The poor are already taking public transit.

I’ve heard this argument many times and I just don’t agree. It’s a straw man argument. By your logic, toll roads are also a tax on the poor. Or you could say taking the T is a tax on the poor. This doesn’t make sense as a toll model is a fee-for-service model just like many things in this world. Except EZpass tolls and the MBTA are tax deductible as commuter benefits. Or, we could exempt Boston residents from the congestion toll. It’s an inappropriate assumption that a congestion tax cannot be implemented without disproportionately affecting those who are low income.

Not only that, but we know that the pollution created by ICE vehicles disproportionately affects poorer residents who are more as risk for respiratory illness, so it’s not so easy to just say “drive tax bad for poor” because driving is already bad for them.

edit: typo

Congestion itself is a tax on the respiratory health of poor neighborhoods.

Noted car owning drivers: the urban poor

>Congestion tolls are a tax on the poor.

A portion of the toll revenue could be used offset costs for low-income drivers.