Poll: Congestion Pricing no antidote for MTA fare hikes
November 19th 2007 12:54 pm
The New York Times November 19, 2007, 11:37 am
Is Manhattan Turning Against Congestion Pricing?
By Sewell Chan
Support for congestion pricing is falling — even among Manhattan voters, who among all city residents have been the staunchest supporters of the proposed traffic fees — according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this morning…
Manhattan voters, who supported congestion pricing by a margin of 54 percent to 36 percent in Quinnipiac’s last such poll, in August, are just about evenly split, with 46 percent supporting it and 47 percent opposed…
Even if congestion pricing meant a delay in the fare and toll increase the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has proposed for early next year, support for the traffic fees would only rise to 53 percent, with opposition falling to 41 percent, the poll found.
State and city officials have not persuaded the public that traffic fees will keep the costs of commuting down, the poll found. Only 28 percent of voters said it was “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that congestion pricing fees would prevent a fare hike, while 67 percent say it was “not too likely” or “not likely at all…