NYC Congestion Pricing | Driving in NEW YORK CITY vs. European Cities - is NYC TOO CAR friendly?

[@Kerleem]

What do you think about driving in New York City? How does it compare to driving in other European cities? Do you think the NYC congestion pricing is necessary? Let me know below!

[@jonowee]

Ahem, you know the low bridges of Robert Moses' parkways was to prevent buses?

[@jeffreykyle8587]

I’d have to agree with you that driving in NYC is easier than any other European city I’ve driven in.

[@Kerleem]

Yes!

[@chrispnw2547]

Thanks for sharing your journey. Several years ago I took my Golf TDI to NYC and my suspension crashed into pot holes and rough pavement. I prayed my car would survive in one piece. Having lived in Chicago, Lost Angeles, and San Francisco, I am familiar with American roads. A large SUV/Truck with a compliant suspension makes these roads comfortable. I’m setting up a home in the Netherlands and deciding what vehicle to buy that will not bankrupt me. I will likely live in Rotterdam or The Hague but would like to drive on occasion in Amsterdam. Is there a case for NOT having a car?

[@Kerleem]

If you're regularly traveling between Dutch cities, public transportation works quite well. But if you do want to own a car, there's many factors to consider. I'd suggest getting the smallest possible vehicle that meets your needs. I have an old video about car ownership in Amsterdam you may find helpful kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYDFlWmsa7hqp8ksi=06miM7bZxg9kOvVh

[@Kerleem]

Thanks for watching!

[@ps1hagrid84]

Happened to me a couple years ago. I’m from Long Island, I was driving upstate and I went off an exit in the Bronx and we got two flat tires from a pothole

[@Awesome_Aasim]

I drove upstate for Memorial Day weekend. The highways were wide open. I actually found it relatively easy to "keep right except to pass". The best driving in New York is not in NYC but on roads like the NJ Turnpike and the NYS Thruway. Also the parkways outside of NYC are very old and not well-designed and I would avoid them in the future. As for congestion pricing, I think it is a right step but it isn't being done correctly. It probably will not reduce the amount of cars driving into NYC unless if concurrent stuff like expanding LIRR or adding more buses outside of NYC is done. The best way to reduce through traffic through a city is to make through traffic impossible by strategic use of diversions and more, like what some cities have done. This also makes it much safer to take a bicycle and makes public transport much more efficient without adding additional infrastructure.

[@Awesome_Aasim]

Also as one from the SF Bay Area, I am surprised by the number of roads in and through New York City. In Manhattan, there are only two roads, but just outside in Brooklyn and Queens there is the BQE, the 495, the Grand Central Parkway, the Cross Island Parkway, the Van Wyck Expressway, the Clearview Expressway, and more. And in Bronx there is the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Hutchinson River Parkway, the 87, and more. San Francisco, on the other hand, just has three highways: 280, 80, and 101. Of course, Oakland does have a lot of highways as well, but it does not feel much like many other American cities overindexed with redundant roads.

[@Kerleem]

Awesome! great to hear it was pretty smooth. Yes, the parkways definitely have some drawbacks but I liked the concept!

[@MartijnV452]

Great video! I’m not a big city guy, but I love New York! 😃 Happy to have already been there but love to visit it again. 🗽

[@Kerleem]

New York is Awesome! Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@mattheweng4679]

Great video! Was very informative, thumbs up for the Road Guy Rob mention! One thing though was the intro music was a little loud so it was hard to hear what you were saying during the intro - at least on speakers

[@Kerleem]

Thanks for the feedback, I had mic issues in this video so it was a challenge to balance the levels

[@chefssaltybawlz]

The congestion charge is a double tax that will affect the lowest earners the most. Higher prices on food and everything going into the city. Meanwhile they do nothing about fare evasion which costs millions in lost revenue. NYC has become a mess.

[@Kerleem]

I've seen some videos about fare evasion and people covering up license plates (there's a guy who is famous on tik tok for exposing this). I guess even NYPD cars are guilty of this? I agree that also needs to be addressed to make the congestion pricing actually effective. I think for deliveries, other solutions should be explored (like delivery time window exceptions or exceptions for certain types of delivery vehicles). Other cities around the world do it.

[@chefssaltybawlz]

@@Kerleem Oh I meant on the subway but yes you are right about them toll dodgers too 😂 Not to mention more costly cabs/uber one may want in some areas or nights since the subway sure isn’t safe these days either. Just a bad move all around for NYC.

[@rlas]

Discouraging driving only works, if the alternatives are better, not just cheaper. They have to be fast, cheap and bearable comfortable. Looking at maps of transportation systems in major US cities just says that a few districts will just switch to public transit cause they have a connection and the rest will bite the congestion charge or lose their job etc cause their districts public transit connection is awful. Also from videos it seems that existing public transit is also completely overwhelmed with current numbers that are only going to rise.

[@Kerleem]

I agree, but it's a bit of a chicken & egg problem...better options can't be developed or funded unless there's demand and there's a huge cultural change that would require that. I think car dependency is so deeply ingrained into the culture it's hard to break out of it. But I think in very dense places like NYC, the argument can be justified because ultimately residents will prefer less cars.

[@ps1hagrid84]

Nyc Subway system is excellent. Ive lived in the nyc area my whole life

[@electricalinput5999]

This is off topic, but does europe have anything like carfax/autocheck that shows accident history, number of previous owners, etc?

[@Kerleem]

Carfax does exist for Europe but I have never used it. I am not sure how accurate it is since different countries have different databases as well.

[@thomasshaanika]

I have been driving in New York city..it's much easier and relaxing comparing to other cities

[@Kerleem]

I mean rush hour during the week may not be so relaxing, but for a city on the weekend, it was not bad to drive through.

[@365tips]

NY should be more pedestrian and bikefriendly. Hopefully they remove one lane from all the streets and make room for people not cars. You don´t need a car in NY. Congestion charge pricing should be more expensive for large cars and smalla cars gets 70% discount (like Fiat 500 etc.)

[@Kerleem]

I agree and I saw some bicycle lanes added to some streets where car traffic was reduced and it was nice. They could definitely learn a thing or two from European cities. Also, I agree with the concept of variable congestion charging based on size of a vehicle! But it might be difficult to enforce. Americans aren't culturally used to actually paying different or additional fees for having larger vehicles.

[@KxemonPlayz]

Living in NYC, you definitely need car if you’re outside of Manhattan. Most European cities are pedestrianized while NYC is still cars. Also on your opinion, how you think New York Is pretty 1-10

[@Kerleem]

Yeah, you could tell even for people not far out of the city (in NJ for example), a car is necessary. It's a bit of a reverse culture shock to me. I didn't get to see ALL of New York City but it's an amazing city which exceeded my expectations! I can't wait to go back.

[@KxemonPlayz]

@@Kerleem Also, are you a citizen of both the US-Netherlands, I would love to move to the Netherlands someday.

[@statusworldchanger595]

Can't really say it's controversial! To witness 8thave-42'st, you can't move anywhere!

[@Kerleem]

so you agree with congestion pricing?

[@DriveNRoam]

Great video, but that new 5 series looks ugly asf 🤣, last gen looks way better

[@Kerleem]

Haha yeah I was not a huge fan of the design/looks of this gen 5 series. It had some cool tech but definitely a departure from the traditional BMW styling.

[@lexburen5932]

yes its easier to drive because the usa is very car dependent, everything needs to be done by car because there is no alternative. How about change it around, and next time go as a pedestrian or cyclist, and see if thats easier compared to any european city ^. :) then you will find that the opposite is true. Europeans do a better job at giving everyone a space, and not cars only.

[@Kerleem]

Yeah I was quite surprised that the most dense city in the US is STILL so car friendly. After living here in Amsterdam I have a different perspective on it. I would love to try cycling around NYC but it just felt too dangerous to do it with so many cars. It’s not as nice as cycling in Amsterdam.

[@Kerleem]

Thanks for watching!

[@chefssaltybawlz]

Bruh, he’s in NYC lmfao 🤦🏿‍♂️ Way more dense than most European cities. Stay on topic.