{"id":18903,"date":"2019-03-12T08:40:56","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T12:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=18903"},"modified":"2019-03-13T16:04:43","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:04:43","slug":"nycs-small-businesses-want-congestion-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2019\/03\/12\/nycs-small-businesses-want-congestion-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC\u2019s small businesses want congestion pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Most people following New York City\u2019s traffic and transit problems understand that more traffic and congestion is bad for air quality and commute times. And they know that the city\u2019s buses and subway system need significant improvements to get people from here to there faster.<\/p>\n

The impact of New York City\u2019s traffic and transit woes on small businesses, however, is often overlooked. New York City is teeming with small businesses that depend on quick, smooth and reliable transit for their employees and customers. The harder the commute, the more likely an employee will be late, or the easier it is for a customer to say \u201cnot today.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why small business owners are some of the most enthusiastic supporters of congestion pricing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Congestion pricing is a simple concept: cars would be charged a fee once per day for traveling into the most trafficked parts of Manhattan. This would achieve two things. First, it would incentivize other transit options, like buses and the subway, and reduce overall street traffic. Second, the fee would generate more than a billion dollars a year that would be used to improve the city\u2019s transit system.<\/p>\nNYC\u2019s small businesses want congestion pricing <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n

Environmental Defense Fund and other organizations are participating in the Fix Our Transit<\/a> campaign to spotlight the benefits congestion pricing would bring to the city. As part of the effort, we shot several videos featuring local small business owners who \u2013 in their own words \u2013 explain how their businesses depend on good transit and how congestion pricing would help them, their employees and their customers.<\/p>\n