NY mayor aims to price motorists out of Manhattan

By Joan Gralla

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg aims to price rush-hour drivers out of Manhattan with an $8 (4 pound) fee, borrowing from traffic and air quality strategies used in London and Singapore.

The fee would be a first in the United States and add an expense to what is already one of the nation's costliest cities.

The Republican mayor who banned trans fats in restaurant food and cigarette smoking in bars and restaurants is again promoting what he calls a health initiative.

"Just take a look at our kids in some of our poor neighbourhoods who go to hospitals with asthma rates that are four times the national rate. Every day it gets worse," Bloomberg said.

"It will clean up our air and it will improve our economy."

The proposal to charge fees for driving in Manhattan south of 86th Street was one of 127 energy-saving and emission-cutting plans that Bloomberg unveiled on Earth Day last Sunday. Trucks would pay $21.

Motorists could be charged via electronic tags, for example, and the city could enforce the law by installing cameras to photograph license plates.

The mayor aims to win over critics by spending the toll revenue -- around $500 million a year -- on $30 billion worth of tunnels, commuter railroads, subways and buses.