New York City officials announced on Tuesday that since launching its landmark congestion pricing program in January, 17.6 million fewer vehicles have entered Manhattan—a 12% drop.
The program charges most passenger vehicles $9 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street during peak hours. The goal is to reduce traffic congestion while generating funds to improve the city’s mass transit system.
Although the Trump administration has tried to block the program, a judge has paused those efforts, preventing the federal government from withholding approvals or funding for New York projects.
Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said traffic flow has already improved. Travel times in the congestion zone are faster: the Brooklyn Bridge is moving 13% quicker, the Holland Tunnel 36% faster, and the Lincoln Tunnel 5% faster.
Safety has improved as well. Crashes in the zone are down 14%, and traffic injuries have dropped 15%. Public transit is seeing a boost, too—bus ridership has risen 13% and subway usage is up 9%.
Hochul emphasized that the revenue from the program will help fund $15 billion in critical capital improvements for the city’s mass transit system.
The U.S. Department of Transportation under President Joe Biden had approved the program in November 2024, which uses electronic license plate readers to monitor vehicles. Federal approval is required because tolls are being applied to highways under federal jurisdiction.
New York’s program follows the footsteps of similar initiatives in London and Singapore.
Opponents, including Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, argue that the program disproportionately affects working people and limits free highway options. Last month, Duffy warned that the USDOT could withhold up to 25% of New York’s federal transit funding if the MTA fails to improve safety for subway track maintenance workers. Photo by ILMRT, Wikimedia commons.
