Will 'Congestion Pricing' Come to NYC?

New York, NY —

They do it in London and we might be doing it at some point in New York. That would be charging motorists who want to drive in the city's busiest areas during peak times. Even though the idea is not that far along to becoming a reality in the city a dispute has broken out among business groups over the wisdom of it.

REPORTER: Two queens city council members released a report by the queens chamber of commerce claiming the city would lose 2 billion dollars a year by discouraging drivers from coming to midtown and lower Manhattan. Councilmember Tony Avella said the toll would be unfair to residents of Queens.

AVELLA: All this would do is put another hidden tax on New Yorkers and businesses

REPORTER: But the New York City partnership, the city's main business group, says congestion charging should be given a change. It says it could reduce traffic in midtown, increasing reliability and productivity.

The partnership has expressed worry that more businesses will locate in London, which already has congestion charging. Mayor Bloomberg says it’s an option that should be looked into. For WNYC, I'm Andrea Bernstein.