Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Almost two-thirds of New York City voters -- most of whom use public transportation -- oppose charging drivers a fee to enter midtown Manhattan, a concept known as ``congestion pricing,'' according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

A Manhattan Institute study concluded last month that any plan to charge drivers to use city roads should be limited to the most congested areas in order to attract public support and should be adjusted according to time of day so that the highest fees are charged at the busiest times.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today the city should examine congestion pricing to help ease street crowding. He added he doubts the New York State Legislature would approve such a plan.

``This city should never close its mind to any potential procedure that will improve the quality of life,'' Bloomberg told reporters after a keynote address at the Global Partners Summit at Columbia University. ``Whether or not congestion pricing really would do it, I don't know.''

About 62 percent of those surveyed oppose charging vehicle owners a fee to drive below 60th Street at rush hour, while 31 percent support the idea, the poll found. Sixty-seven percent of respondents use mass transit to travel in and out of Manhattan, while 24 percent typically use a car, the poll found.

About 48 percent didn't agree with the idea that a fee would improve the economy because congestion costs New Yorkers billions every year, while 42 percent agreed, the poll found. About 57 percent said congestion pricing would unfairly tax people who live outside of Manhattan; 37 percent disagreed.

Manhattan Stands Apart

Manhattan was the only one of the city's five boroughs where congestion pricing seemed to have greater support, with 48 percent in favor and 43 percent opposing, the poll found. Manhattan was also the only borough where voters agreed it would be good for the economy and wouldn't unfairly penalize residents of other boroughs.

Cities including London, San Diego and Singapore have used fees to reduce congestion on busy streets and highways, according to the Manhattan Institute study. It takes as much as 75 percent longer to travel in New York City during rush hour, and the cost of time spent waiting in the city's traffic was estimated at about $8 billion a year, the study said.

``The people who are pushing this, they are going to have a hard push,'' Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a telephone interview. ``You have a 2-1 opinion to go against if you want to get it. (Bloomberg's) got a lot of things going for him with that huge approval rating, but it's a hard sell.''

No Bridge Tolls

The poll also found that most New York City voters are against charging tolls on East River bridges, with 78 percent opposing the idea and 17 percent supporting.

``I don't think the issue is tolling the bridges,'' Bloomberg said. ``The issue is, should we charge for entering a certain area, and would it be effective? Would it limit the traffic? Would it hurt business or help business? There are a whole variety of views, and I think we should look at all of those things -- and we're doing that.''

The poll of 1,013 registered voters in New York City was conducted Jan. 9 to 15 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Qunnipiac University is a school with about 5,400 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students in Hamden, Connecticut, a 90-minute drive from New York.

Mayor Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg News.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 18, 2007 15:34 EST