West side senator Bill Perkins calls himself the best customer for public transportation.

"I don't even drive to Albany," Perkins said. "I take the Amtrak there, I take the Amtrak back."

But despite his fondness for mass transit, Perkins joins a group of congestion pricing supporters who fear that "the devil is in the details" of the plan.

The United States Department of Transportation announced on Aug. 14 an offer of $354 million in federal funds to put toward a city congestion pricing plan. The money will go toward the traffic reduction proposal if the State Legislature and City Council approve recommendations made by a 17-member commission appointed by the State Legislature.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan calls for drivers to pay a once-daily $8 fee if entering or leaving New York City south of 86th street. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan calls for drivers to pay a once-daily $8 fee if entering or leaving New York City south of 86th street. Congestion pricing, lasting from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., also meant charging city car owners living south of that boundary $4 per day if they drove their vehicle solely in Manhattan. The fee for trucks entering or leaving the city was set at $21, with a proposed reduction in cost for hybrids.

Aides to Bloomberg were encouraging the Legislature to pass Bloomberg's bill right away and figure out the details later. But that was when a deadline was being trumpeted as an end-all be-all for acquiring nearly $500 million in aid from the federal Department of Transportation.  Now, the deadline has passed- although New York is still in contention for the money- and a congestion mitigation commission had been created by the State Legislature in New York.

The commission is intended to air concerns and study Bloomberg's plan, and maybe others.

"I think we will have created a greater buy-in, a greater sense of support from the communities, many of whom feel left out of the discussion," Perkins said. "This is government in a way that is best because there will be hearings and more input."

Perkins, whose district includes 86th Street, has already received feedback from the community.

"I would hear constituents say, 'Why are we stopping at 86th Street? We have congestion issues at 125th Street at the river. Why aren't we taking the line higher up?" Perkins said. "The mayor came up with a line without any rhyme or reason. Why did he stop there?

Unlike Perkins, West Side State Sen. Tom Duane does employ a car for the commute to Albany. He also admits to using one for vacations and various meetings across town. But being a car owner has not turned him off to the idea of congestion pricing.

"I'm willing to pay my fair share as long as it improves the quality of life for my constituents," Duane said, "So that they can breathe more easily, so that they have better access to transportation, and that our business, particularly our small businesses, are able to prosper better."

But Duane has his own questions about the plan.

Congestion pricing would be enforced with E-ZPass- like technology, and the city would use a plethora of cameras to make sure tolls were paid as well as spot violators. Duane said the cameras could raise civil liberty concerns regarding how they're used. Opponents of the plan have said the government could use the cameras for spying or monitoring purposes not related to congestion pricing.

Duane also said his constituents have questions about exemptions to congestion pricing for social service programs such as Meals on Wheels, and want to know about expanding the current mass transit infrastructure.

"Better bus and subway service is going to be paramount for those who are skeptical about congestion pricing," he said.

The mass transit issue is an important one for Liz Krueger, a state senator from the 26th district on the East Side.

"Some people want to oversimplify congestion pricing as, 'What's it going to cost at what time of day?'" Krueger said. "But for me the questions are, how much more can you expand our bus service? How can you speed our bus service? What can you do to expand our subways? What can you do to expand our train options?"

Krueger, who supports congestion pricing as a concept, said she thinks that pricing will be part of the mix of what the commission recommends.

"The bill specifically says that the plan must reduce traffic by at least 6.3 percent," Krueger said. "The experts I've spoken to said you can't get a 6.3 percent reduction in car traffic unless congestion pricing is part of it.

But even after all the experts and all the committees, for Sen. Perkins, New York still isn't ahead of the times on the congestion issue. It's a salient point for Perkins, who said his community is affected by asthma that might stem from car emissions.

"The environmental issues are too compelling," Perkins said. "I think even more important than the health of the economy is the health of the people in the community."