KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg aims to price rush-hour drivers out of Manhattan with an $US8 ($NZ11) fee, borrowing from traffic and air quality strategies used in London and Singapore.
The fee would be a first in the United States and add an expense to what is already one of the nation's costliest cities.
The Republican mayor who banned trans fats in restaurant food and cigarette smoking in bars and restaurants is again promoting what he calls a health initiative.
"Just take a look at our kids in some of our poor neighbourhoods who go to hospitals with asthma rates that aree mayor aims to win over critics by spending the toll revenue -- around $US500 million a year -- on $US30 billion worth of tunnels, commuter railroads, subways and buses.
The biggest US city needs these huge projects to meet the demands of a population forecast to grow by 1 million people to more than 9 million by 2030, Bloomberg said.
A recent survey of 500 drivers by the business group Partnership for New York City showed 43 percent of commuters favored the fee and 51 percent were opposed.
Bloomberg aides say they are eager to work with the state of New York, which won the power to set many city policies in return for a mid-1970s fiscal bailout.
Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer has said the mayor's strategy requires "enormous analysis".
Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers have already opposed it, saying New Yorkers who live outside Manhattan must drive because subways and buses take too long.
Other suburban lawmakers who represent "bridge and tunnel" commuters call Bloomberg's plan an outrage because they believe public streets should stay free of charge.
Long before Earth Day, Bloomberg locked up support from more than 70 business, environmental and civic groups, in part by bundling congestion pricing with a larger environmental plan that calls for 1 million new trees, additional parks and plazas, and slashing emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
Officials in London and Singapore consider their schemes a success, saying drivers have turned to mass transit.
London has used congestion pricing since 2003 and doubled the size of its zone in February. It now charges 8 ($NZ21.91) pounds, which converts to about $US16 or twice what New Yorkers would pay. Traffic is down about 10 percent since the programme started, London officials say.
Singapore's plan dates to 1975 and charges varying rates throughout the day that range from about 30 cents to $US1.90.
- REUTERS
