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Should Uber and Lyft riders pay a fee for clogging Manhattan’s busiest streets?

The number of for-hire vehicles operating in the city has nearly doubled, from 47,000 in 2013 to 103,000 today, according to the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Out of those in operation, about 68,000 are with ride-hailing apps, with Ubers being 65,000 of them. City law caps the number of yellow taxis below 13,600. The explosion of ride-hailing services in the city, and the heavy traffic that comes along with it, has caused some officials to consider measures to reduce congestion while raising money for the MTA.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is planning to release a congestion pricing plan in January as a way to provide a dedicated funding source for the transit system. Cuomo’s 16-person state task force, Fix NYC, is currently exploring options that would reduce congestion, including a per-ride fee on for-hire vehicles in Manhattan.

About 10 years ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed for a similar congestion pricing plan; charging drivers $8 to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan during peak commuting hours. The legislation faced opposition and was never brought to a vote.

On Tuesday, Uber launched an advertisement campaign supportive of a congestion pricing plan. As the Daily News reported, the six-figure television ad will run on city cable stations and will highlight the “congestion nightmare” NYC is experiencing. The ad says: “Above ground: congestion. Below ground: A mess. Congestion pricing can fix both.”

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Instead of a congestion pricing plan, De Blasio has announced support for a “millionaires tax,” a plan to tax the wealthiest 1 percent of residents to pay for transit repairs. The tax must be approved by Albany, something that many say is unlikely due to the state Senate’s Republican majority.

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