As the Manhattan parking industry lobbied for its removal (see MTR #345), a Daily News editorial last week made the case for keeping the Manhattan carpool rule. The requirement says cars using bridges and tunnels that enter Manhattan below 62nd Street from 6 to 10 a.m. on weekdays must have two or more occupants. It was imposed by the mayor to reclaim highways and streets when widespread gridlock developed in late September, as the city and region tried to get back to work after the Sept. attack. 

In its piece, the News argued that city and regional drivers have coped with the regulation, and that Lower Manhattan especially cannot live with the extra traffic lifting the rule could cause. It also said that, "with the recession, [parking garages] cannot blame car-pooling alone for their weakening balance sheets." The News cited city data that the rule has reduced traffic entering Manhattan by 15%. 

The argument continued the strong editorial support the carpool regulation has enjoyed since Mayor Giuliani implemented it in late September. The News and the New York Times urged more permanent reform of how cars enter Manhattan. The Times noted that "Limiting car traffic into Manhattan is a good thing in itself for a city plagued by the automobile-related problems of congestion and pollution." 

Last week's News editorial called for the MTA to adopt time-of-day pricing at its toll bridges and tunnels as part of a longer-term system to manage traffic demand at crossings into Manhattan. It went on to explain the carpool rule's three months of success: "the city has learned that commuter habits can be changed. Commuters themselves have learned to adjust. It would be a shame to revert to old ways - and traffic-jammed streets - just when actual and long-lasting benefits are being realized."

The paper also urged the city to wait for completion of its study of the carpool rule's economic impacts before taking any action. The study, commissioned by the NYC Dept. of Transportation, should be finished in about a month. 

About 5% of weekday commuting trips destined for the central business district - Manhattan south of 60th Street - are single-occupant cars.

Manhattan Carpool Rule Benefits Many, Inconveniences Few  (Nov. 15, 2001)

Good Marks, New Backing for Carpool Rule (Nov. 8, 2001)

Parking Industry Takes Aim at Carpool Rule  (Dec. 10, 2000)

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