Free Subway Rides? Come Hear the Discussion At The Green Renter Lecture Series in NYC

Pin It

Come out Monday, March 10 at 7 pm to the Green Renter lecture series held at the Solar One house on the East River. This week’s lecture will feature Charles Komanoff, a renowned energy-policy analyst and environmental activist, speaking about Ted Kheel’s policy approach to NYC’s congestion problem: 100% free mass transportation.

I’ll admit—sheepishly—some days when I’m extremely tired from a long day at work, head bouncing to some tune on my ipod, I often walk into the subway and without thinking, try to walk through the turnstile without swiping my card. After I’m jolted out of my stupor by the immovable metal bar at my crouch, I realize I’m entering, not exiting the station and I must pay. I often dream about free subway rides—my dream could come true if New York City adopted Ted Kheel’s plan.

Kheel, a 93 year old labor lawyer, first proposed his plan to double the tolls for cars and trucks entering Manhattan and eradicate the turnstiles and bus fees back in 1965. He even fought a state covenant, that said the Port Authority could not spend any money on mass transit, all the way to the Supreme Court. Well, forty years later Ted Kheel is still pushing his plan.

Below is chart outlining the differences between Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan and Kheel’s:

Charles Komanoff was research director, lead modeler and lead author of the report, A Bolder Plan: Balancing Free Transit and Congestion Pricing in New York City, and I expect him to provide numerous insights at Monday’s lecture.

Some questions that may come up:

• Would free transit increase ridership to an unmanageable level?
• What would be the effect on the locales outside of the city because people will be more apt to park and take mass transit?
• How would business revenue and commerce in the Central Business District be affected?

At this point, I really like Kheel’s plan—maybe this would change if the subway systems became over crowded, but right now I say bring it on. Let’s plant more trees in the city, remove more cars and all our lungs will be thankful.

What do you think? Perhaps you’ll tell me after the event. I’ll be back with more thoughts after the lecture.

See you on Monday. Need Directions?

photo source: subway

chart source: Kheel v. PlaNYC