The problem, of course, is America's car culture itself: Most commuters don't take public transit and view congestion pricing as a tax, making it a huge political lift, even if there's a groundswell of support for reform, these experts added.
It's kind of mind-blowing to think that 89 percent of MTA customers live in the city, but only 41 percent of the MTA board does. And the average MTA board member salary is 10 times that of the average customer. Out of touch? More like out of orbit.
Ford's Chariot van service — which has been hyped as a key addition to the urban transit network, but is little more than $4 bus rides along set routes in areas already well served by existing service — is proving to be a big, expensive failure.