New Jersey Mayor Enacts ‘Reverse Congestion Pricing’ in Response to New York City’s Controversial Tolls
AND New Jersey The mayor is pushing the idea of reverse congestion tolling after New York introduced a controversial toll last week.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who is also running for governor of the Garden State, floated the idea, according to Fox 5 New York.
“New Jersey has the same opportunity to push the same buttons that New York is pushing against us,” Fulop said. “We could do that to them, but the goal is to come to the table to have a reasonable solution.”
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Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop speaks during a rally organized by the 32BJ SEIU labor union in support of the strike by Newark Airport workers on March 31, 2016 in Newark. (Getty Images)
The mayor said he believes reverse congestion pricing is an appropriate response In New York a new toll, which charges vehicles entering busy parts of Manhattan as a way to encourage people to use the subway.
“There’s a lot of crossover between Staten Island, New York, Bergen County, Hudson County and New Jersey,” Fulop said. “There’s a lot of opportunity for the same kind of impact fee that New York gives to New Jersey.”
Fulop said he believes the money made from reverse congestion pricing should fund New Jersey’s mass transportation systemwhich suffered from delays and cancellations.
Congestion rate plate readers are installed above Lexington Avenue on December 18, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images)
“My opinion is that New Jersey Transit is a terrible product and should be invested in more, and until you have a reliable transit system in New Jersey, you can’t responsibly think that people are going to take the trains,” Fulop said. “But this was an opportunity to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in New Jersey Transit, and I think the governor just took a very light political approach.”
There was initially a possibility that New Jersey would receive hundreds of millions of dollars from New York’s new tolls, but that fell through due to litigation.
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Overhead equipment placed on New York streets for controversial congestion pricing plan. (Getty Images)
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The details of Fulop’s proposal have not yet been finalized, but he said bridges or toll booths could be placed outside of New Jersey’s tunnels and bridges.
He said that, similar to congestion pricing, there may be exemptions or credits for crossovers.
It’s unclear whether New Jersey residents will have to pay a toll to re-enter their home state like some New Yorkers do for the congestion charge.
