4 Comments

I wonder why they're choosing not to fully exempt taxis from the charge. That would reduce likelihood of additional vehicles such as Ubers, and simply restore the yellow cab volume.

Expand full comment

I was in New York City about a year ago and had a wild encounter with a woman who was going crazy over this proposed toll. How we met is a long story, so I'll cut to the chase. She had a really interesting thought, apparently shared by friends of hers, that this will kill business in the affected areas. Anyone who has to make an appointment for services like legal, medical, dentist, and possibly restaurants as well simply won't go if they have to pay the toll. Instead, business will move up town and rents near the 6oth street boundary will soar. Because most businesses pay rent, they can get out of their locations relatively easily making her hypothesis more believable. Of course, all policies, no matter how well intentioned, have side effects. I wonder if this will be one of them.

Expand full comment