Struggling taxi drivers see congestion pricing as fee that breaks their backs
Report says demand for yellow cabs could drop by nearly 20%, adding to the troubles of drivers rocked by the pandemic and drowning in debt.
EDITORS’ NOTE: Taxi drivers across the Brooklyn borough have been active in their resistance against predatory medallion loans and fairer labor practices, blocking the Brooklyn Bridge in February of 2021. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), the largest cab union in New York, is fighting to exempt yellow and green cabs from the congestion surcharge, saying there is a way to compensate for tax revenue through policy that concentrates the cost among the wealthy. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY 11) of Brooklyn and Staten Island has voiced concern about the surcharge punishing commuters in her district, who use the various tolls and bridges to access work in Manhattan.
This article was originally published on by THE CITY
Proposed fees on city drivers that are supposed to generate billions of dollars for mass transit upgrades also threaten to take a crippling toll on the livelihood of cabbies and the long-suffering yellow taxi industry.