Gounardes talks congestion pricing with R train riders
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes has been frequent rider of the R train over the years, but on Thurs., Feb. 21, the lawmaker descended the stairs of the 77th Street subway station at 7 a.m. for another reason.
Gounardes, a Democrat who represents Bay Ridge and a wide swath of Southwest Brooklyn, went into the subway to talk to passengers on the station platform and the train about R train service and the promise congestion pricing holds to make their commuting lives better.
Gounardes is a strong supporter of congestion pricing, the idea of charging vehicular drivers a toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street and using the revenue to enable the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to conduct much-needed repairs and upgrades of the city’s crumbling transit system. Part of his mission on Thursday was to gauge public opinion on it.