Why London’s congestion charge works—and NYC’s might fail

Comments · 1.4K

• EV

  @evan · 1 year ago (edited) · pinned

  Thanks Ground News for sponsoring! Go to <a href="https://ground.news/evan">https://ground.news/evan</a> to stay fully informed. Subscribe through my link to get 40% OFF the Ground News unlimited access Vantage plan.

  49

• GR

  @grahamtruckel · 1 year ago

  If only everyone in UK had access to the same level of public transport as Londoners.

  1.4K

• DJ

  @djs98blue · 1 year ago (edited)

  Disabled drivers with blue badges can also access the zone free of charge. Worth mentioning as they are often overlooked in these discussions and unfortunately the tube even the buses in London have big accessibility problems. Even buses with ramps etc often won’t help as some drivers don’t use them. &nbsp;My son is disabled and that’s our experience anyhow.

  729

• NO

  @noplace3571 · 1 year ago

  It&apos;s a bit rich for a black cab driver to be all &quot;won&apos;t someone think of the poor people&quot; as if taking a cab in London doesn&apos;t require you to remortage a house 😂

  1.2K

• CH

  @chicoamericano8500 · 1 year ago

  I just find it crazy how much Brits and Americans have to spend on public transport daily. In Germany we pay 60€ per month for all trains throughout Germany and all cities public transport. That&apos;s what i spent for a day trip into London from Reading

  1K

• BE

  @BernardvonSchulmann · 1 year ago (edited)

  I lived in London for a number of years in the early 90s. &nbsp;I lived near Camden Town and worked at an office in Oxford Street. &nbsp;Each day the bad air quality meant my hands were dirty and the snot was black. &nbsp;This was not from factories or industry, this was all from all the diesel-engined vehicles. &nbsp;After a day of rain, the air tended to be cleaner but any laundry that was outside when it rained had to be washed again because the particles in the air were on the clothes.<br><br>Kudos to London for doing something that has so improved the quality of life in the city

  475

• RH

  @rhyljones5051 · 1 year ago

  Pedestrians in Barcelona are slowly reclaiming many parts of their city with the city&apos;s transformation of roadways into priority areas for pedestrians, even going so far as to close off certain neighbourhoods COMPLETELY to road traffic on the weekends.

  58

• RO

  @Rondoggy67 · 10 months ago (edited)

  Brit here. The congestion charge has worked really well. The streets are less congested, and it is far safer and nicer to cycle in London. There are plenty of times when you hardly see any cars in locations that used to be gridlocked. However, the critical factor has been the incentive to use public transport that has imroved due to reinvestment of the money rather than disincentive of the charge itself.

  13

• CR

  @crusaderanimation6967 · 8 months ago

  Man, the &quot;If you were privileged, equality sounds like oppression&quot; is really visible with car drivers.

  59

• SW

  @sweh · 1 year ago

  I moved from London to New York in 2001, then moved to Northern NJ 4 years later (and am still there today). &nbsp;I&apos;ve always commuted into the City... using public transit. &nbsp;I picked a town on the Bergen line and a house within walking distance (about 8 minutes walk). &nbsp;So whether I was working in NYC or Jersey City no car was needed.<br><br>At one point (2005?) the subway went on strike so I had to walk from Penn to 47th/Park. &nbsp;Which would have been annoying except the city closed off midtown to traffic; just busses allowed. &nbsp;The walk was so much nicer &apos;cos of not having to wait at every intersection.<br><br>I&apos;m hoping the NYC congestion charge will have a similar effect; less traffic making it nicer to walk around midtown/downtown. &nbsp;Maybe we&apos;ll start to get more streetside cafe type seating!

  159

• NE

  @neveryahoo3318 · 1 year ago

  Paris declined to implement a congestion charge because they considered it to be elitist. They&apos;ve done a great job of reducing traffic and pollution by transferring road space away from cars and making massive investments in public transport.

  251

• CY

  @CyanideCarrot · 1 year ago

  They even offered to give $100m/year to NJ Transit as a &quot;settlement&quot; but NJ&apos;s governor turned it down, smh

  148