First the pandemic closed down travel on public transportation….
Now, Post Pandemic ?
Less people are using Mass Transit…..
An effort to drop a use tax on those traveling below 60St in Manhattan has been canned….
And idea to drop another tax on NYC busses isn’t gonna go anywhere either…..
Mass Transit projects in Big Cities cost HUGE money…..
But these days?
People want to work from home saving paying for bus or trains……
Some of those new projects may never see the light of day…..
And some of those trains and buses may get a early retirement, eh?
State lawmakers immediately nixed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to increase a tax on New York City businesses — a plan intended to recover money that would have been generated by congestion pricing tolls.
Four people confirmed to POLITICO on Thursday the payroll mobility tax hike was considered a non-starter in the Democratic-led state Senate, making it all but impossible for the measure to go forward.
“It’s insane to do that right now,” Long Island state Sen. Kevin Thomas said after a closed-door meeting of Democratic lawmakers.
And timing is also running out to reach a deal: The state Legislature is expected to wrap up its work for the year on Friday and not return to Albany until January.
In effect, Hochul’s latest proposal might be even more politically unpalatable than the congestion pricing plan she abruptly scrapped in the first place, lawmakers said.
Rejecting a payroll tax increase to offset lost revenue deepens uncertainty over the future of mass transit capital improvements.
Hochul floated increasing the tax in the hours after she rescinded support for the toll plan, which would have charged drivers $15 to travel into Manhattan below 60th Street….