Congestion Pricing Lives

New York Governor Kathy Hochul will reinstate New York City’s stalled congestion pricing program with a $9 toll, a marked reduction from the $15 toll proposed earlier this year. 

According to an article in The Guardian by Oliver Milman, “The revised system, to start in January, will generate $15bn to aid a major overhaul of New York’s creaking public transport system, funding repairs to a decrepit subway and bringing a fleet of new electric buses online for underserved parts of the city. Low-income drivers will get discounts, Hochul said, and the fee will also drop after 9pm to encourage late-night deliveries.”

As Milman explains, “About 700,000 vehicles enter the lower half of Manhattan each day, often at a crawl – the average travel speed is now around 7mph, down from about 9mph 15 years ago.” The program is expected to reduce congestion and pollution and encourage higher transit ridership. Notably, roughly 85 percent of commuters to Manhattan use the city’s transit system, and only half of New York City households own a car.

The program could launch as early as December 29, with other sources saying it could start in the first week of 2025 — an urgency sorely needed as President-Elect Trump has vowed to end congestion pricing once back in office.