Alternative to electric car

In the $2000 to $4500 range is a foldable electric bicycle with the chain hidden so that your trousers don't get dirty. You must pedal to get it started. Only a few miles of range, but up to 40 if you pedal.

It's not sold in the USA yet, and seems to be popular in London where the downtown has a congestion zone that costs $10 a day just to drive in and taxis are astronomical.

Police agencies like the electronic-assisted bicycles...they pedal them but can put on a burst of speed to catch fleeing suspects.

Many tourist oriented downtown areas try to establish bike zones using outlandish designs that will be recognizable when stolen

The trouble is its still a mixture of traffic

Quote: Fleastiff

The trouble is its still a mixture of traffic

London is implementing 20 mph speed zones in huge swaths of the city. NYC is eyeing London's policies.


The congestion zone in Historic London. Fee is now £10 per day with £65 and £195 levied for non-payment.


The primary difference with Manhattan has 1.6 million residents in it's 15,000 acres while there are only 136,000 residents in London's 5000 acre congestion zone. Since Manhattan is an island, it is not clear how much difference would be made by congestion pricing versus bridge and tunnel tolls. The London residents in the zone are exempt from the fee.

Tolling the four free entrances into business district in Manhattan would control 40% of the traffic. The 390K vehicles that enter from upper Manhattan (many from the GW bridge), could be controlled by simply eliminating inexpensive parking below 60th street.

Quote: Pacomartin

London is implementing 20 mph speed zones in huge swaths of the city. NYC is eyeing London's policies.

Why bother?

Except for the highways on either side of Manhattan island, you can't go much faster than 20 as it is!

You already see a lot of scooters in London, so it isn't that much of a stretch to get around on an electric bicycle.

How fast do you want to go?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYIJm7101pg

The four free bridges —
the Brooklyn (completed in 1883),
Williamsburg (completed in 1903) and
Manhattan and Queensboro (both completed in 1909).

have been earmarked for tolls on and off since 1933, but maybe they could partially be used for electric bicycles.

Many of the 396K are coming in off the GWB ($13) or the Henry Hudson ($4) and have prepaid tolls getting into Staten Island or the Bronx.

You could eliminate bridge tolls to the boroughs and then enact tolls for all entrances to Manhattan or enact a $10/day tolls for all of Manhattan below say 110th, 96th, or 72nd. I would go with 96th to nab the tourists going to Museums. Of course, New Jersey would scream as they get most of the revenue for maintaining the various tunnels and bridges from the Jersey side. I would then change the tolls to the bridges to an outbound toll of say, $5/day. There are only 16 road enterances into NYC at 96th street to the north and 8 entrances to the city otherwise, and would be simple enough to replace all toll booths with license plate cameras and/or toll booths.

NYC has so far refused to integrate the MTA with New Jersey transit. Just having a monthly subway pass include PATH trains, or extending the #7 line to the NJ Train hub in Seacaucus would take care of a great deal of the traffic coming in from NJ.

A PATH unlimited 30 day pass is $80 and a 30-Day Unlimited Metrocard is $112.

So commuters from NJ using public transit pay ($80+$112)=$192 pr $384 for two people plus parking at the NJ PATH station. Now two people in a car pay $11 per crossing EZpass * 22 business days = $242. If you throw in parking, it is probably close to even, but a car is still more convenient.

For 3 people the bridge or tunnel toll drops to $5 per crossing, meaning it is certainly far cheaper to commute by automobile.

Parking is $150/month and up. And then there's the time factor, often adding a solid 1/2 hour at rush hour to get into Manhattan. And getting your car out of a garage always takes a few minutes.... it's never self-park. People happily pay the money to go from Secaucus to NY to the subway system.

Finding a car pool partner has its own inconveniences as most people working in NYC don't start and stop at the same time.