New York City Groups Consider Congestion Pricing

"While Mayor Bloomberg publicly maintains that the city is not interested in charging drivers a fee to enter Midtown Manhattan's business district during its busiest hours, four independent groups are quietly conducting studies to determine how imposing such a charge could reduce city traffic and benefit the economy.

The studies, set to be released within the next few months, could renew pressure on the mayor to consider instating the fees known as congestion pricing.

Congestion pricing creates a financial incentive to reduce the number of cars on the city's most overcrowded streets and encourages the use of mass transit. Opponents say they don't like the idea of New Yorkers paying to use their own city."