I think this sounds like a great idea and a great way to fight congestion. And it’s worked in other cities like London. This is from the Daily News.

Mayor Bloomberg defended his plan to charge motorists $8 to enter the most congested parts of Manhattan – laying the groundwork yesterday for a fierce battle with Albany.

“You know, it sounds like a lot of money, but you go to a movie, it’s $12,” Bloomberg said on his weekly WABC-AM radio show. “So, let’s, you know, put some of this stuff in perspective here.”

Bloomberg said motorists who drive into Manhattan tend to be the “people who can afford it,” and he suggested he would “fight like heck” to get the Legislature to approve the plan before he leaves office in December 2009.

“Using economics to influence public behavior is something this country is built on,” he declared. “It’s called capitalism.”

London has a successful congestion-pricing program in place.

Tomorrow, during a major policy address at the Museum of Natural History, Bloomberg will officially roll out more than 100 initiatives aimed at preparing the city to handle a projected population increase of a million people by 2030.

The congestion-pricing proposal – charging $8 for motorists to enter Manhattan below 86th St. from as early as 6 a.m. to as late as 6 p.m. – has already outraged some drivers and a slew of elected officials.
Told how Bloomberg compared the $8 charge to the price of admission to the movies, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall replied, “A lot of people are not even going to movies because they’re $12.”

“This is an unfair tax on people who are paying the price of having a poor public transportation system,” said Marshall, referring to residents of her borough. “Our mass transit system is already overloaded.”
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and state Sen. John Sabini, both Democrats from Queens, said the mayor’s proposal has little to no chance of winning support from either chamber in the Legislature.
Sabini said congestion pricing is one of the rare issues that will “unite the outer boroughs and the suburbs” in opposition.

But several elected officials, including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, said they would keep an open mind. Both said they wanted to ensure the plan wouldn’t hurt working families.

“I’m not going to slam it, but I’m not going to open up the corks of the champagne,” said Markowitz, predicting the proposal will be substantially “fine-tuned” if it moves forward.

Environmentalists and civic leaders showered Bloomberg with praise.

“For New York to maintain quality of life, healthy air for all of us, especially our children growing up here, and for us to tackle the challenge of climate change, we need to do congestion pricing to slow the growth of traffic congestion,” said Andy Darrell, regional director of the Environmental Defense group, a nonprofit organization.

Bloomberg acknowledged that he faces an uphill battle.

“Most elected officials – not all, but most – are unwilling to champion unpopular causes,” he said. But he added it’s disingenuous to complain about environmental problems and then fight against remedies.

“What we need are people to get ahead of the curve,” he said. “I would describe it as leading from the front.”
msaul@nydailynews.com