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New York declares 'transportation emergency,' requires carpools on Manhattan bridges
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has declared a "transportation emergency" during his state's recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
Cuomo has announced that New York City's subway will not charge fares on Thursday and Friday as the system resumes limited service after suffering severe flood damage during Sandy.
Separately, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) has announced a three-passenger limit on driving across bridges that lead into hard-hit Manhattan.
“The gridlock we experienced today shows that the New York metropolitan region is in a transportation emergency,” Cuomo said in a statement released by his office.
“I think anybody that tried to drive around New York City today realized there are a lot of cars on the road," Bloomberg said in press conference Wednesday afternoon. "Traffic is very heavy."
Bloomberg said it was necessary to require carpools on Manhattan roads because "[T]he streets just cannot handle the number of cars that have tried to come in.
"I’ve ordered that the four East River bridges be restricted to High Occupancy Vehicles only tonight — coming into Manhattan — meaning three or more people per vehicle — all day on Thursday and all day on Friday 6 a.m. to midnight," he said. “So from 6 a.m. to midnight, if you’re coming into Manhattan on one of those bridges, you have to have three people in the car."
Bloomberg and Cuomo said New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was establishing bus-only lanes to replace subway trains that are unable to run between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
