2 ms·

Affirmative evidence: A small truck pays $14.40/day. A large truck $21.60/day. That $20ish in fees is distributed across the entire cargo of the truck; I'm sur

Affirmative evidence: A small truck pays $14.40/day. A large truck $21.60/day. That $20ish in fees is distributed across the entire cargo of the truck; I'm sure we agree that the average truck carries more than, say, $20 worth of goods. NYC minimum wage for the driver/delivery person is $16.50/hour. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/11/upshot/congestion-pricing.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/11/upshot/conges... "average traffic speeds inside the zone increased by 15 percent" 15% faster between stops seems highly likely to save that driver an hour or so in their day. Probably some gas, engine wear and tear, etc. too. And if your delivery truck gets into an accident, that's additional cost. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/jun/16/new-york-congestion-pricing https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/jun/... "Perhaps the most dramatic transformation has occurred outside the toll zone. In Queens, traffic crashes in Astoria and Long Island City have fallen by 27%, with injuries down 31.4%. The reason, Schwartz says, is geographical." This, of course, all ignores other improvements that are tough to measure. We've seen lower car crash injury rates - what's the per-capita benefit from that? What's the per-capita benefit of less asthma? What's the per-capita benefit of less road noise? (We have concrete evidence that these things are harmful! https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240621-how-traffic-noise-pollution-harms-childrens-health-and-development https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240621-how-traffic-nois...) > go with the usual models for taxation that work for everything else What are these magical models of taxation economists have wide consensus on? To my knowledge, tax policy remains a contentious field.

timr 1y ago
> 15% faster between stops seems highly likely to save that driver an hour or so in their day. Probably some gas, engine wear and tear, etc. too. Great. Prove it! When you use words like "probably", it indicates that you're speculating. (I'll just save you some time here: you can't prove it, because no such proof exists. It's fine to just admit that you have a theory.) > "Perhaps the most dramatic transformation has occurred outside the toll zone. In Queens, traffic crashes in Astoria and Long Island City have fallen by 27%, with injuries down 31.4%. The reason, Schwartz says, is geographical." Non responsive. I didn't ask you for proof that other things you like might be happening. I asked you to prove that your preferred tax is actually lowering prices.

timr 1y ago

> 15% faster between stops seems highly likely to save that driver an hour or so in their day. Probably some gas, engine wear and tear, etc. too. Great. Prove it! When you use words like "probably", it indicates that you're speculating. (I'll just save you some time here: you can't prove it, because no such proof exists. It's fine to just admit that you have a theory.) > "Perhaps the most dramatic transformation has occurred outside the toll zone. In Queens, traffic crashes in Astoria and Long Island City have fallen by 27%, with injuries down 31.4%. The reason, Schwartz says, is geographical." Non responsive. I didn't ask you for proof that other things you like might be happening. I asked you to prove that your preferred tax is actually lowering prices.