Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Congestion Pricing

Fact Check: Congestion Pricing is Not a “Regressive Tax”

fidler_facts.jpg

One of the most oft-repeated slams against congestion pricing we heard at this week's Congestion Mitigation Committee hearings is that congestion pricing would be a "regressive tax," an unfair burden to poorer New Yorkers.

Is congestion pricing regressive? The data suggests otherwise.

As the chart above shows, even in Brooklyn Council member Lew Fidler's heavily auto-dependent district, households with a car earn more than twice the income than households without. Meanwhile, only 5.3% of workers living in Fidler's distrit drive to work in Manhattan south of 86th Street (unfortunately, Fidler is probably one of them). Fact sheets for Richard Brodsky, Vivian Cook, Denny Farrell, Jeffrey Dinowitz and other congestion pricing opponents' districts are equally revealing and very much worth a download. Cook, for example, represents a Queens district where only 3.5% of workers drive into the proposed charging zone for work.

In testimony before the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign argued the point. From this week's Mobilizing the Region:

Some anti-pricing politicians seem tohave dressed up for Halloween as populists defending “working stiffs”from a “regressive tax” on driving. But an analysis of Census data byTSTC and the Pratt Center for Community Development shows that, in all but one State Assembly district in NYC, vehicle-owning households are 50% wealthier than households without a vehicle; in nearly half of districts, average income is twice as high.

Furthermore, only a small minority of commuters drive alone to theproposed congestion pricing zone (CPZ); this is true not only inManhattan but in the outer boroughs and the surrounding suburbancounties. For example, only 5.1% of workers from Rockland County drivealone to the proposed CPZ. In Westchester, 3.4% of workers drive aloneto the CPZ. In Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the percentages are evenlower.

Fact sheets containing abreakdown of commuting patterns by mode and destination, vehicleownership statistics, and the average incomes of vehicle-owninghouseholds and non-vehicle-owning households are available online. The fact sheets cover counties and City Council, stateAssembly, state Senate, and U.S. Congressional districts in the NewYork metropolitan area.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

No, Washington Post, Driver’s Ed Isn’t The ‘Main Cause’ of Our Road Violence Crisis

A recent Washington Post article blamed bad driver's ed for America's dismal roadway safety stats — and gets a lot of facts wildly wrong.

August 14, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Cross That Bridge

But you shouldn't have to if you're on foot. Plus, Amtrak's 2021 expansion plan faces grim prospects under President Trump.

August 14, 2025

Four Policies Progressives Are Backing for the Next Big Transportation Bill

Progressives are refusing to water down their ambitions in the face of a deeply divided Washington.

August 13, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines on a Hot Tin Roof

We're talking about streetcars, but are really tired of "desire" puns.

August 13, 2025

Femmes + Thems Bike Offers a Safe Space For Chicagoans to Ride Together

Women, femme, nb, and trans Chicagoans are gathering together to enjoy life on two wheels.

August 12, 2025

Vital ‘Lifeline’ or Blatant Ripoff? Instacart Makes NYC Groceries 75% More Expensive

Instacart is arguing that its services are a lifeline to low income New Yorkers, but the app makes groceries 75 percent more expensive.

August 12, 2025
See all posts