The New York Times is reporting that a “surprising” number of cars pour into the city from the five boroughs, clogging roads. As the city considers proposals for “congestion pricing” (read: higher tolls), this sort of data is important.

Indeed half the vehicles coming into New York City (for the purpose of the study, the business districts below 60th street) are coming from the five boroughs. But consider this; the five boroughs include Staten Island, which has no subway access, and the outer reaches of Brooklyn and Queens where the MTA service makes the PATH look like the eighth wonder of the modern world. In addition, Bergen County produces a huge number of vehicles, and with two million people, is the most populous county in New Jersey, yet the county lacks a direct train connection to Manhattan.

In either case, all this effects Hudson County quite a bit. Any efforts at reducing traffic headed for the city will obviously include slowing the onslaught of vehicles aiming for the Holland Tunnel, either through higher tolls or High Occupancy Vehicle requirements. Such restrictions will be putting more commuters on the PATH, Light Rail, and Ferries leaving from downtown Jersey City and Hoboken.