(Bloomberg) -- If for-hire vehicles are required to pay additional tolls under New York City’s proposed congestion pricing plan, “thousands of drivers will lose their life savings,” Aziz Bah, the organizing director of the guild that represents over 80,000 drivers in the city, said Thursday night during the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s first public hearing on the plan.

The virtual hearing marked the first of six that the MTA is hosting to collect input from the public on the plan’s tolling scenarios for vehicles entering the Manhattan central business district. The plan, which could go into effect as soon as the end of 2023, would charge some motorists as much as $23 to enter Manhattan south of 60th street.

“It’s going to be the death of lower Manhattan,” said Midtown East resident Colette Vogell, calling congestion pricing a “money grab” as she questioned where the MTA is allocating all its funds.

Vogell was among the elected officials, city residents, activists and drivers who either expressed their opposition or support for the new tolls during the hearing, which began at 5 p.m. New York time and stretched on for almost seven hours, ending just before midnight on Thursday. According to the MTA, more than 400 people were registered to testify.  

“I am totally in support of congestion pricing,” said Luke Szabados, who lives in the Bronx and bikes to work nearly everyday. “Putting a price and mitigating the amount of pollution causing vehicles that are entering the city is going to be a great win for us.”

Tolling scenarios for the congestion pricing plan, a first for a US city, were outlined in an Environmental Assessment report released on Aug. 10 by the Federal Highway Administration, New York State Department of Transportation, MTA Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and New York City Department of Transportation. The new fees are projected to bring in $1 billion in revenue a year. 

Read more: NYC Congestion Pricing Will Bump Some Drivers Costs to $120

“Public involvement and engagement is an important part of the Environmental Assessment process,” said Aaron Donovan, MTA spokesperson, in an emailed statement. “We welcome the interest and look forward to hearing from those participating in the hearings, and to reviewing the comments submitted on the Environmental Assessment that are being provided through other means.”

The next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. New York time. Hearings will run through Aug. 31 and public comment will be collected through Sept. 9. After public review, the federal government could step in with more questions. If approved by the government, the MTA’s Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority board would then adopt a final toll structure, including rates and any crossing credits, discounts and exemptions.

According to the assessment, traffic in the district could drop by as much as 9% and use across the entire public transit systems could potentially increase by as much as 2%. 

But that could come at the expense of for-hire drivers, such as Uber and Lyft rideshares or taxis, who shuttle passengers in and out of Manhattan throughout the day, plus residents of the district. 

The Independent Drivers Guild’s Bah said at the hearing if for-hire drivers are required to pay the congestion fees under the plan thousands of them will lose “their investments, their livelihood, their homes, their ability to survive and feed their families.” For-hire and taxi drivers are calling on elected officials to exempt them from the new tolls. 

Meanwhile, Laura Mount, a resident of the district, testified during the hearing that she feels discriminated against and said it is unfair to toll residents because they live in the zone. 

“I do believe that this program is being jammed down the throats of the people that I represent and all New Yorkers,” US Representative Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican who represents New York’s 11 congressional district which covers Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, said at the hearing. 

Despite the criticism, some New Yorkers and elected officials who favor the congestion pricing plan said it is vital.

“We need congestion pricing, we needed it three years ago and we need it now even more than ever,” Pedro Rodriguez, a born and raised New Yorker who now lives in Queens, said at the hearing. “Reducing the number of cars on our streets will not only save countless lives, but it will also help fund the lifeline of our city which is the MTA and our transit system.”

The MTA, which runs the city’s subways, buses and commuter rails, has seen weekday subway ridership plateau at about 60% of pre-pandemic levels as many office workers have settled into working from home and is facing a worsening financial crisis. The MTA faces a potential $2.6 billion operating budget deficit in 2025 and is seeking additional state funding as soon as next year to help reduce its projected shortfalls.

“For our city to continue to function we must get people out of their cars and back onto reliable public transportation,” Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a Democrat, said at the hearing.

(Updates 8th paragraph with next public hearing date. Corrects 4th paragraph to say more than 400 people registered to testify.)

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