It has now been 30 days since the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority (TBTA) started collecting Congestion Pricing tolls on vehicles that enter Manhattan south of 60th Street for the benefit of its parent agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Throughout 2024, we brought you extensive coverage of the court battles over whether the toll should be implemented. So far, every judge who presided over the numerous litigations conducted up until Saturday, Jan. 4, have either upheld the toll plan, or denied requests by its opponents for an injunction that would prevent the charge from being collected. On Sunday, Jan. 5, at a few seconds after midnight, the controversial toll became reality and, 30 days later, it is time for our first update on the results.
The toll has two purposes that the MTA has linked, even before New York State enacted the statute in 2019 that authorized it. One is to reduce vehicle congestion on the streets of Midtown Manhattan and areas south of there by requiring payment of a toll for vehicles entering the Central Business District (CBD), as the southern part of Manhattan is officially known for this purpose. The other is to use the toll revenue to help pay for the capital programs for New York City Transit (80%) and the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North (10% each). We have reported on the toll structure in detail earlier in this series, but the base rate for a passenger automobile was originally set at $15.00 after 5:00 AM on weekdays and 9:00 on weekends, until 9:00 PM. During overnight hours, the rate was to be 75% less, or $3.75. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul “paused” the toll shortly before it was supposed to implemented on June 30, 2024. She later “unpaused” it and reduced the rates to $9.00 ($2.25 night rate) through 2027 and $12.00 (night rate $3.00) through 2030. The $15.00 rate is scheduled to take effect in 2031.
The legal battles are over, for the most part. Judge Leo M. Gordon, who presided over the case brought by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on behalf of the State of New Jersey, other New Jersey officials and additional plaintiffs for the Federal Court in the District of New Jersey, found some issues that he said needed to be remanded to federal highway officials, but he allowed collection of the toll to begin as scheduled.
MTA Remains Upbeat
On Saturday, Jan. 4, the day before the toll went into effect, MTA CEO and Chair Janno Lieber held a ceremony where he unveiled signs at the northern boundary of the tolling zone that indicate to motorists they must now pay the toll. MTA said: “The toll is expected to reduce traffic in the Manhattan CBD by approximately 80,000 fewer vehicles entering the zone daily, leading to improved traffic flow, better air quality and reduced traffic accidents.” It is estimated that the toll will bring in between $500 million and $600 million per year (the $15.00 base toll was slated to bring in about $1 billion). “Money generated by the toll will provide $15 billion toward MTA capital projects, improving New York’s quality of life and economy by making subway stations accessible to all in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, purchasing hundreds of new commuter railcars and zero-emission buses, and upgrading subway signals on key corridors, enabling more frequent and more reliable subway service,” MTA noted.
The next day, when the toll became effective, the MTA held a news conference at Grand Central Terminal. The agency’s release bore the headline New York Joins World Cities with Launch of First-in-Nation Program to Deliver Cleaner Air, Less Traffic and Better Transit for the Metropolitan Area. As we reported, those other “World Cities” are London, Stockholm, and Singapore. The release quoted Lieber as saying: “The Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) has been in operation since midnight—1,400 cameras, more than 110 detection points, more than 800 signs and 400 lanes of traffic, and it’s all gone smoothly,” and encouraging trucking companies to make deliveries at night, when the toll rates are only 25% of the daytime and early-evening rates. The MTA touted the benefits that transit and its riders would receive through the toll revenue that would flow toward capital improvements for the system, and reminded listeners about how much transit it has: “The CRZ is also the most transit-rich area in the U.S., with 94 subway stations, 99 MTA bus routes and 2,500 regional/commuter trains per day on the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, NJ Transit and PATH, allowing more than 85% of commuters into the zone to rely on transit.”
On Jan. 10, Lieber appeared on Brian Lehrer’s talk show on WNYC, New York’s NPR station. He took questions from listeners after Lehrer interviewed him. Lehrer began by noting ridership changes during the first week that the toll was in effect: “So where is everybody? Ridership data indicates that at least some of those motorists have migrated to mass transit, with 500,000 more people traveling on the city subway, buses and commuter rail on Tuesday, compared to the same day last year. 500,000 more. Far and away the biggest ridership jump Tuesday was on the city subway system, this says, on which more than 3.7 million people traveled, an increase of more than 400,000 travelers for the equivalent day in 2024, according to MTA ridership data reviewed by Crain’s. So, in other words, of the 500,000 more on mass transit, generally 400,000 were on the subways.” He continued citing the Crain’s report, saying: “80,000 more passengers boarded buses on Tuesday, bringing the day’s bus ridership to north of 1.2 million. And Metro-North and LIRR each saw increases of about 30,000 riders. It’s less clear what’s unfolding on mass transit that originates from New Jersey, according to Crain’s. NJ Transit spokesman Kayla Mulumba said the agency ‘has not seen a notable ridership increase this week,’ but declined to share ridership metrics specifically.” Before introducing Lieber, Lehrer said, “Anecdotal evidence, but there it is. So, for better or worse—and it’s complicated—early indications are that something is changing because of congestion pricing.”
Despite the less-than-upbeat news from NJ Transit—expected because NJT cannot say anything that isn’t in line with the New Jersey Governor’s position, regardless of who it is—Lieber expressed optimism, because of the quality of the city’s transit: “What we do know is that the people who drive are realistically better off (wealthier) than the people who take transit, broadly speaking, you know. Low-income people, 95% of them who come to the Central Business District take transit. … You know, transit is one of the very few things that makes New York affordable, and our middle class and working class and even low-income folks do take advantage of that.”
By the end of the month, the MTA was starting to report data. A release from Jan. 29 said: “Data indicates that travel times at inbound crossings and within the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) continue to be significantly faster than last January. Bus riders and especially express bus riders have benefited from less gridlock and are continuing to experience faster and more reliable commutes. In total since the program was launched on Jan. 5, more than 1 million fewer vehicles have entered the CRZ than they would have without the toll.” The Release reported some data from the first three weeks of the toll: “Data provided by TRANSCOM shows inbound trips times on all Hudson and East River crossings are now 10% to 30% faster or more than they were in January 2024. Motorists crossing via the Holland Tunnel are experiencing the most improved daily time crossings, with a 48% reduction on average during peak morning hours, followed by the Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges, which are both experiencing an average of 30% faster trip times.” There was also a statement that trips into the CRZ were faster than before in other places.
Concerning subway ridership, the MTA said: “Subway ridership has also grown by 7.3% on weekdays and 12% on weekends when comparing January 2024 and January 2025. This builds on the ridership growth trends experienced in Fall, 2024.”
The next day, the MTA began to release granular data about traffic flows. The agency began by giving links to where to get the data: “The MTA today released data on the volume of vehicles entering Manhattan’s CRZ by location, time and type of vehicle. The dataset, MTA Congestion Relief Zone Vehicle Entries, is available to view on the MTA’s data transparency website, and can be downloaded on New York State Open Data.” The data contained on the latter site, especially, is highly technical.
Feud Across the Hudson
Longtime New Jersey advocate Albert L. Papp, Jr., refers to the body of water between the Empire State and the Garden State as the “Hudson Ocean.” That appellation never seemed more apt as it does today, as New York and New Jersey continue to feud over the toll. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is the highest-ranking of the plan’s opponents. He still opposes the toll, as strongly as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul defends it.
According to the MTA, about one-sixth of vehicles entering the tolling zone came from New Jersey: “43% of motorists entered the CRZ via north of 60th Street, 24% entered from Brooklyn, 16% entered from Queens and 17% entered from New Jersey.” Lieber defended the program against Murphy’s opposition. In his WNYC interview, he said, “In New Jersey … they’re only talking about the 30,000 New Jerseyites who are impacted by the congestion pricing fee, whereas they raised the gas tax by 6%, they raised the tolls on the Garden State Parkway, on the New Jersey Turnpike, the Pennsylvania tolls. That’s going to affect most of the 9 million people in New Jersey. And Murphy’s only been talking about 30,000 people who are impacted.”
Lehrer played a clip of Murphy from his call-in show aired the previous Wednesday evening, when he said: “We believe in climate change. We do a lot to push up against it. But unfortunately, and the federal judge said this is a very flawed program, but still let it go ahead. This is going to take it out of the hide of our commuters, and it’s going to displace the pollution from Manhattan to New Jersey.” (Editor’s Note: This is one of the most ridiculous, nonsensical things I’ve ever heard come out of a politician’s mouth – William C. Vantuono). Among other issues, Lieber also called Murphy out for raising tolls in his own state: “It’s like they’re waving around to distract attention from what they’re doing. Governor Toll Hike, I mean, Governor Murphy, is, by focusing only on congestion pricing, has really misled New Jerseyites. And you said you’re a mass transit supporter. What has Murphy done for mass transit? This is a governor who promised fixing NJT if it killed him. And as I said, before you know, he ain’t lying, and I’m not even sure he’s trying. Because New Jersey Transit has been a wreck.”
As expected, NJ Transit has had little to say during the entire controversy. Aside from a few minor exhibits submitted in the court case, that agency has never promoted itself as a means for riders to go to Manhattan without having to pay the congestion toll, a fact that Murphy has not been known to mention, either. I contacted NJ Transit and asked about ridership since the toll was imposed, and received this reply on Tuesday, Feb. 4: “It is too early to see how commuter trends may shift due to congestion pricing. While we have not seen a notable ridership increase in January, it is important to note that ridership trends may take more time to develop. We will continue to monitor any changes in commuting patterns.” I also reached out to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to find out if there have been any ridership changes on the PATH trains that run between Manhattan and nearby New Jersey, but that agency did not return my inquiry.
Anecdotal Evidence
This writer visited Manhattan several times during the first month of the Congestion Pricing toll and used buses as much as possible to get around, instead of the subway, to observe the vehicular traffic. My first such visit was on Sunday, Jan. 12. Motor vehicle traffic from Penn Station southward seemed lighter than usual, even for a Sunday. On another visit the following day, though, traffic also appeared light for a weekday. A bus ride that was scheduled to take 20 minutes took only 17, a pleasant surprise, especially when New York buses are known to be slow. Midtown also seemed less congested, even though there did not seem to be much change Uptown beyond the tolling zone, or in the Financial District Lower Manhattan, where the narrow streets always seem congested.
Traffic doesn’t always move more freely, though. On Wednesday, February 5, I took the M7 bus from Lincoln Center (64th Street and Broadway) down Seventh Avenue to Penn Station; a 30-block trip. It took 27 minutes, and I can walk it that fast on a day when the weather is good. While the traffic situation seems better overall, that general observation does not seem to apply to pre-theater time in Midtown.
There might be some grounds for hope about motorists being willing to accept the congestion toll, but it is only a glimmer at this time. Danny Pearlstein of the advocacy group Riders’ Alliance reported a poll by business-oriented organization Partnership for New York City released on Monday, Feb. 3. It says support among voters who are also motorists for the toll is growing. While it appears to me the poll might not stand up to rigorous tests for reliability and validity, it nonetheless raises some hope that motorists will get used to the toll, at least if it actually relieves congestion and allows those motorists to move through Manhattan faster.
While anecdotal evidence has limited use in proving facts, it provides “present sense impressions” (a term from the Rules of Evidence), the sort of impressions that many people trust when making decisions about what to do. In the case of visiting Manhattan and using transit, seeing fewer vehicles on the streets and feeling that the buses are moving faster than in the past leaves a positive impression and can enhance the likelihood that a person who encounters New York City that way will be likely to come back and to use transit again. There is more to be done, to help visitors and locals alike feel safe in the subways, but the MTA claims that a few high-profile crimes have skewed some people’s impressions of the system. Winter is probably not an optimal time to test observations about city visitors, either. We will probably know more when the weather warms up, and tourists begin to show up in significant numbers.
Will Congestion Pricing Survive?
At the moment, that’s not entirely clear. POTUS 47 has made it known that he opposes the toll. So have many other Republicans, along with a surprisingly large number of Democrats.
On February 4, David Meyer called out Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from Upstate New York, in StreetsblogNYC for waffling and making false claims about the tolling program: On Jan. 29, Kate Sobko reported in the Bergen Record, “[Gov. Murphy] appealed to the freshly sworn-in President on Inauguration Day in a letter that said he welcomes ‘any opportunity to work with you and your Administration where we can find common ground,’ noting that one area in which their ‘priorities align is congestion pricing.’” Sobko also reported that Murphy wrote, “I know we share significant concerns about these developments. During your campaign, you called congestion pricing ‘a disaster for NYC’ and a ‘massive business killer and tax on New Yorkers, and anyone going into Manhattan.’”
Politics seems to be bringing together the proverbial “strange bedfellows” over the congestion tolling issue. We will have some comments on politics and the White House’s current occupant’s chances of killing the toll now that it has started, along with updates on what transit riders and motorists are doing about getting around Lower Manhattan, as this series continues.
