<
https://www.courthousenews.com/nycs-congestion-toll-has-students-spending-more-time-at-school/>
"MANHATTAN (
CN) — New York City’s controversial congestion pricing program
has boosted students’ time spent in school by roughly 30 minutes per week
thanks to quicker bus service, a student transit company claims in a new court
filing.
NYC School Bus Umbrella Services (NYCSBUS) is a nonprofit company that serves
nearly 10,000 New York City schoolchildren with its fleet of 900 school buses —
approximately 10% of the city’s total number of school buses.
NYCSBUS filed a legal brief Wednesday in support of the congestion pricing
program, which is under siege by the Trump administration’s Department of
Transportation. The first-in-the-nation toll is slated to bring $1 billion per
year to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and reduce overall traffic
congestion by charging passenger vehicles a $9 daily toll to enter the “Central
Business District” — Manhattan below 60th Street.
Buses have been running faster since the congestion pricing toll began in early
2025, NYCSBUS noted. The effects could have a big impact in the classroom, with
NYCSBUS boasting that some Manhattan students are now spending an average of
about 30 minutes more per week in school.
“Indeed, since the program was implemented, students who ride NYCSBUS buses to
schools in the [Central Business District] have gained, on average,
approximately half an hour of additional time at school per week that otherwise
would have been spent idling in traffic on a school bus,” the company claims in
the 17-page amicus brief.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has likened the toll to “class
warfare” and vowed to force New York to ax it back in February. State leaders
and transportation officials quickly sued in response, and have pledged to keep
the program running unless a court orders it be stopped.
Despite the administration’s disdain for the program, its results have been
promising thus far. It’s gaining support statewide, with many New Yorkers
noticing faster work commutes and less traffic congestion in downtown
Manhattan."
By “class warfare” they mean anything that benefits the poor.
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-chestnut-tree-hybrid-nyc/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
