NYC’s plan to ease gridlock and pump billions into mass transit? A $15 toll for Manhattan drivers

NEW YORK (AP) — Between bridge and tunnel tolls, parking fees and the ever-present risk of getting a traffic ticket, it can already cost a mint to drive into Manhattan.

Is forking over another $15 for the privilege of driving into the most traffic-choked parts of the island enough to finally get more people out of their cars and onto mass transit?

That's the hope, at least among some New York officials.

The Big Apple is close to implementing a plan that would use license-plate readers to turn all of Manhattan south of Central Park into one giant toll zone.