NEW YORK CITY, NY – The American Trucking Associations (ATA) said it sees problems with Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal, announced Apr. 22, to charge a new fee to anyone who drives into Manhattan, according to the Web site www.etrucker.com. The proposal is part of a package of initiatives, outlined by the mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, designed to cope with the problems posed by a booming New York City population of 8.2 million people.

Part of the plan is a proposal to charge motorists for driving into Manhattan below 86th Street on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Trucks would be charged $21 a day, cars $8. Planner said that such “congestion pricing” would reduce traffic and pollution while generating money for other transit projects — nearly $400 million in just its first year.

ATA spokesman Clayton Boyce said the proposal would increase costs for every trucking company operating in Manhattan and every individual and business in Manhattan reliant on truck shipments, from apartment-dwelling FedEx customers to major department stores, according to www.etrucker.com.

Bloomberg’s plan also proposes to facilitate freight movement by improving access to John F. Kennedy International Airport and exploring high-occupancy truck toll lanes. Other elements of the plan affecting transportation include:

1. Improving fuel efficiency of private cars by waiving New York City’s sales tax on the cleanest, most efficient vehicles.
   

2. Promoting new technologies and fuels, including hydrogen and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
   

3. Reducing emissions from taxis, limos, and for-hire vehicles.

4. Introducing biodiesel into the city’s truck fleet and going beyond mere compliance with local laws to reduce emissions further.
   

5. Accelerating the emissions reductions of private fleets through existing congestion mitigation and air quality programs.
   

6. Creating incentives for the adoption of strategies to make vehicles more efficient and less polluting.
   

7. Improved compliance with anti-idling laws through a targeted educational campaign.