In May of last year (2023) after years of waiting and delays, President Joe Biden’s administration approved the MTA’s congestion pricing program which would toll drivers who enter Manhattan during rush hour, and it was recently revealed that drivers will now have to shell out $15 to enter parts of Manhattan under the new program.
The MTA released an analysis report in August of last year showing how car traffic could be reduced as much as 20% if a new tolling program was introduced.
The original proposed program would toll non-commercial drivers as much as $23 during rush hour and those driving trucks up to $82. A recommendation to the transit agency given on November 30, 2023 by the Traffic Mobility Review Board called for a slightly lower toll, however. And on December 6, 2023 the MTA Board voted nine to one in support of the recommendation.
As of today, March 27, 2024, following a 60-day public comment period, the MTA Board has officially approved the new plan.
The plan includes the $15 toll between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. through 9 p.m. on weekends for drivers entering the Central Business District (CBD) below 60th Street.
The $15 toll only applies to passenger vehicles, however. Additional recommended tolls are as follows:
- Motorcycles – $7.50
- Small trucks – $24
- Large trucks – $36
- Small buses – $24
- Large buses – $36
- Buses providing transit services – Exempt
Tolls will be capped at once per day for passenger vehicles, passenger-type vehicles with commercial plates, and motorcycles, and will cost 75% less during overnight hours.
On the flip side, drivers entering the CBD through the Holland, Lincoln, Queens-Midtown, or Brooklyn Battery tunnels during the day will receive a crossing credit towards their toll fee. Crossing credits will be as follows:
- Passenger vehicles – $5
- Motorcycles – $2.50
- Small trucks – $12
- Large trucks – $20
- Small buses – $12
- Large buses – $20
- Buses providing transit services – Exempt
After the vote, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber stated:
“This is essential to the city’s future. I said to the MTA team when I started here, we’re going to to do the hard stuff.”
There are a number of factors that determined the toll rates per vehicle, with the Traffic Mobility Review Board considering things such as how traffic might move, air quality and pollution, costs, effect on the public, and safety.
At the end of the day, this program is intended to discourage driving while also raising money for transit improvements.
After paying the cost of running the CBD Tolling Program, 80% of the money will be used to improve and modernize NYC Transit, 10% will go to the Long Island Rail Road, and 10% to Metro-North Railroad.
The Central Business District (CBD) Tolling Program is the first congestion pricing program in the US, but the program has helped other cities around the world by reducing traffic, helping improve mass transit, and improving air quality.