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Lincoln tunnel toll3/18/2023 Some of the turnpike toll money goes to help fund public transit - in New Jersey. “There is a whole interstate running down the center of New Jersey that if we have to drive south, that’s the only way to go,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director at the Riders Alliance, a group that advocates on behalf of New York subway and bus riders. But New Yorkers trying to leave their state are often captive to some unilateral tolls themselves - on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. New Jersey politicians often portray their state’s commuters as uniquely captive to the whims of New York. While the MTA has pretty broad authority in setting the tolls - as long as they raise $1 billion or so a year - New York law says where the toll money will go: 80 percent to city mass transit, 10 percent to Long Island Rail Road and 10 percent to Metro North, the train system that serves part of the Hudson Valley and Connecticut. New Jersey’s chances of getting a piece of the New York pie seem slim, though. “New York’s greed there isn’t coloring our opinion of New York’s greed here.” “This isn’t about the election and it isn’t about the Covid formula,” the aide said. Rather, the issue for New Jersey is that New York likes to forget that it relies on New Jersey commuters. One congressional aide also said the gubernatorial election and other disputes aren’t the issue. The Murphy official said the administration isn’t playing 3D chess by tying that dispute with the congestion pricing concerns. In mid-September MTA officials called New Jersey “illogical” in a fight over how to split billions in pandemic relief dollars meant for regional transit. The fight over congestion pricing isn’t the only dispute between the states. “Manhattan may be an island, but on affairs of interstate commerce it is not an island unto itself,” Pascrell said in a statement aimed at the MTA. They argue the tolls would be fairer if some money went to fund the public transit systems that get New Jerseyans to New York in the first place, like NJ Transit’s buses and trains and the Port Authority’s PATH trains. Bill Pascrell and Josh Gottheimer argue New York is fleecing New Jersey commuters by earmarking all the revenue from the tolls for its own subways and buses. Members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have gone further in their demands. So, if the new congestion toll were $15 a day, a New Jersey commuter who crossed a bridge or tunnel would pay perhaps $2.50 more each day, rather than $15 more. That means if a New Jersey commuter is paying $12.50 to cross a bridge or tunnel, Murphy argues all crossing tolls should be deducted from the new MTA toll. Still, Murphy’s threat was a surprise from a governor who one of his allies in the fight - Ron Simoncini of the Fair Congestion Pricing Alliance - described as “one of the most sedate people on the planet.”Ī senior Murphy administration official said the governor’s request has been consistent and simple: take care of George Washington Bridge drivers by offering them the same credits New York plans to give drivers entering Manhattan via the Holland and Lincoln tunnels. The Port Authority, which is jointly controlled by appointees of the two states, has long been a battleground where governors clashed over their priorities - even before the infamous “Bridgegate” scandal. Asked about the issue last week, Murphy told members of a local chamber of commerce, “We’re not going to relent if New Jersey commuters are discriminated against, period.” Then he made the threat about holding up business at the Port Authority, which oversees the region’s shipping terminals, major airports, the World Trade Center, an interstate subway system and most of the vehicular bridges and tunnels that link New York and New Jersey. Chris Christie said New York was “ walking all over” New Jersey on the issue. Around the same time, former Republican Gov. At one point in 2019, Murphy said he would not summon a full “Jersey attitude” to fight the new tolls. Other New Jersey officials also oppose New York’s plans, but any specific retaliation from the governor was previously unspoken. Others see New Jersey mustering a sustained attack on congestion pricing as a 16-month environmental review of the tolling project begins. Some people see Murphy’s comments as ephemeral bluster tied to his upcoming reelection bid.
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