Hudson Valley pols blast train fare cuts that exclude suburbs as congestion pricing looms

As New Yorkers ramp up for the June 30 launch of congestion pricing tolls in Midtown, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week aimed to ease commuter rail fares with a 10% discount. But those breaks won't help Hudson Valley commuters or others who catch a train outside the boundaries of New York City.

That's because monthly rail passes on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road will only be discounted for intra-city trips. Anyone whose starting destination is in the suburbs beyond the five boroughs won't qualify.

Officials throughout the Hudson Valley had been fighting for discounts for drivers, especially west-of-Hudson commuters who don't have the option of a one-seat train ride to the city. Rockland County and New Jersey officials and others have pursued legal action to block MTA's congestion pricing plan.

Regional representatives were quick to blast toll cuts for some, while efforts to get discounts for suburban first responders and others have failed.

'Feels like Groundhog Day'

Elected officials in Rockland and Orange have long said their counties' residents are hit with extra taxes because they are in the MTA region but get few benefits from the agency.

“Hudson Valley families are struggling under the weight of a crushing affordability crisis and cannot afford the thousands in new tolls a year that it would cost the average Rockland County resident just to commute to New York City for work,” U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose district includes all of Rockland and Putnam and parts of Westchester, said in a statement. “For the MTA to now discount the rate just for residents of the five boroughs is a slap in the face to Hudson Valley families."

U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat who represents Orange County and parts of Ulster and Dutchess counties, called for the discounts to be extended to all MTA riders. He also said the agency must commit to infrastructure upgrades in the Hudson Valley.

“First the MTA forced through an unfair, uninformed, and unacceptable congestion pricing plan, ignoring the voices of countless Hudson Valley firefighters, police officers, union members, teachers and other hard-working families. Now they’re adding insult to injury,” Ryan said in a statement.

Ryan and Lawler recently wrote a letter blasting the NYC-centric commuter discounts to MTA CEO Janno Lieber. The letter was also signed by U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, a Long Island Republican, and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat.

"This announcement feels like Groundhog Day," the letter states, "yet again, you are putting New York City first, and our communities last."

But MTA officials said 77% of Hudson Valley commuters to the Manhattan Central Business District use mass transit, which will benefit from congestion tolling.

“What’s Groundhog Day is grandstanding pro-traffic zealots misleading people about whether congestion relief will deliver less traffic, faster responses by emergency vehicles, and better health from lower pollution," John J. McCarthy, MTA's chief of policy and external relations said Friday. "It will."

McCarthy also noted that the intra-city discount was mandated and paid for by state legislators from a restricted fund.

The congestion pricing plan, the first approved in the U.S., is designed to curb greenhouse gases by cutting down on single-driver commutes. Toll revenue is also expected to boost funding for the continuously cash-strapped MTA.

In the zone

Tolling in the Congestion Relief Zone will be charged for vehicles entering any parts of Manhattan at or below 60th Street. Vehicles that traverse Manhattan via the West Side Highway and FDR Drive are exempt, as long as they stay on the highways.

Passenger vehicles would pay $15; the toll goes down to $3.75 off-peak, which is 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. weekdays and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. weekends.

Trucks would be charged tolls between $24 or $36, based on size. Off-peak fares for trucks are between $6 and $9.

Drivers who don't use EZPass will pay higher tolls and have to pay through the mail.

Drivers who enter Manhattan via the Holland and Lincoln tunnels can get a toll credit. That's raised more concern about traffic being pushed onto the George Washington Bridge.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NYC congestion pricing starts June 30 but discount won't help suburbs