NYC Traffic Moving At Under 7 MPH, Congestion Pricing Remains Suspended

On the heels of New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s decision to suspend the city’s congestion pricing program, traffic in Midtown Manhattan “is moving slower than ever,” according to an article by David Meyer in Streetsblog NYC.

“Average speeds in the CBD for 2024 dropped below 7 miles per hour last month, according to taxi and for-hire vehicle speed data analyzed by former city Traffic Commissioner Sam ‘Gridlock Sam’ Schwartz.” According to Schwartz, “Traffic volumes are about 2 to 3 percent higher than they were in 2019, and truck volumes are about 10 to 15 percent higher.”

Schwartz says traffic in the CBD moved at 6.8 miles per hour, while midtown traffic moved at 4.6 mph, a drop of 25 percent since 2010. “Congestion pricing tolls, which the MTA was set to charge once per day on vehicles that enter Manhattan below 60th Street, would have reduced the number of cars and trucks in the CBD by 17 percent, according to official forecasts.”