Obama Likes Congestion Pricing

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By Azi Paybarah

March 27, 2008 | 2:28 p.m

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It's not clear what effect, if any, this would have on the actual outcome of the mayor's push to enact congestion pricing, but as it turns out, Barack Obama supports the mayor's plan to reduce traffic.

Bloomberg introduced Obama before the senator's speech at Cooper Union this morning, fueling rumors of a formal endorsement or even a joint ticket. (So far, there have been no real signs of either.)

A reader sent over this brief transcript of a news clip that aired on WNYC a little while ago:

Senator Barack Obama: I think Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal for congestion pricing is a thoughtful and innovative approach to the problem.

[skip]

[WNYC radio reporter] Dan Blumberg: Obama said congestion pricing should not replace federal funding of mass transit. Obama was introduced by Mayor Bloomberg, who made it clear that it was just an introduction, not an endorsement. We’ll have more of Senator Obama’s exclusive interview with WNYC’s Bob Hennelly later today on All Things Considered.

UPDATE: Here is an audio clip of that WNYC excerpt above.