>>2004348>The government's own estimates suggest $1B per year, not $3B, the $15B comes from a bond programPoint taken, most coverage on it says simply that congestion pricing will raise $15bn. So to be more accurate, a steady new income stream of $1bn allows MTA to issue $15bn in bonds. That sounds fine to me, especially seeing as without that money, they miss out on $9.9bn in federal funds as well that's also supposed to go towards capital projects.
>meaning they'll use the money to go into debt further.Why? The bonds and interest are being paid with their own separate revenue stream, and the system itself is getting much needed upgrades to improve service and reach, thereby boosting ridership.
>Pop loss would only accelerateLmao, now who's making assumptions? Most of the people leaving are people who have been priced out, because even as dense as much of NYC is there's Karens that freak over any building taller than 2 stories. Expanding the transit network allows people priced out of NYC and Long Island to still commute from upstate, CT, or NJ.
>won't raise the price of living in Manhattan since ride-shares, taxis, etc. are charged tooAnybody who can afford a cab or Uber can afford a $1.25 or $2.50 fare increase respectively, and the drivers themselves are only charged once a day.
>with delivery trucks also paying, so price of food, goods, and services also go upNah. Congestion delays already cost companies out the ass in overtime and missed delivery/service windows. $26-34 is a pittance for these companies. It's also designed to encourage them to shift to overnight deliveries, when the charges are much less.
>not factoring in the 5% or so that don't pay tollsWrong. The MTA and Comptroller office did factor this in. I didn't bother because I was doing rough napkin math to make a point. 5% of a billion is 50 mil. It's a drop in the bucket on that big of. A funding stream, and the NYPD has started cracking down on toll dodgers anyways.
