• Commuters and legislators from New York City’s outer boroughs and New Jersey say the program hurts drivers who have no viable way to reach downtown Manhattan other than by car, and that this would disproportionately impact low-income drivers. (But out of a region of 28 million people, just an estimated 16,100 low-income people commute to work via car in Lower Manhattan, according to the MTA.) *

Metro north goes as far north as poughkeepsie on the east side of the river and there are plenty of bus services in the commuter belt that service commuters. Things get hairier on the west side of the river. There is also a metro north spur that is serviced by new jersey transit and shoots into orange country NY a little bit, though that train is less reliable and it skips out Rockland county all together. A lot of people who say they dont have other options do but theyre just used to the flexibility that the car gives them(while ignoring the headaches it also gives them)

That said I think it is worth noting that there does need to be improved public transit connectivity around lower ny and ny in general to help accommodate this. Many transit and train stations are accessible primarily by car for most New York residents and there are large numbers of people who are far away enough that these stations are a no go and even if they are they rely on people parking there.