Uber in NYC / Getty Images
Over the weekend Governor Cuomo and the state legislature approved a $168 billion budget -- part of this plan is to have a surcharge for taxis and Ubers who cruise through the busiest part of the Big Apple.
According to Time Out NY:
Under the updated measure, any rides taken below 96th Street in Manhattan with a for-hire vehicle service like Uber or Lyft will include an additional $2.75 fee, and taxi trips will come with a new $2.50 fee. Carpooling services operating in the area will see a modest surcharge of 75 cents.
Oy... this can only mean one thing. A fare hike for riders.
Time Out continues:
The move comes a little more than two months after the Cuomo-appointed Fix NYC Advisory Panel issued a report advocating for congestion pricing in Manhattan’s Central Business District, which would require any and all drivers operating below 60th Street during the day to pay tolls ranging from $11.52 to $25.34. The new surcharge is not nearly as extensive as the proposals laid out in that report, but Cuomo asserted in a press conference over the weekend that it is just “phase one of the congestion pricing plan.”
So the hope is that this income will help fund the MTA's mass transit improvement which is so desperately needed. Thoughts?