Congestion pricing in New York City
It applies to most motor vehicular traffic using the central business district area of Manhattan south of 60th Street, known as the Congestion Relief Zone, in an effort to encourage commuters to use public transportation instead.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) estimates $15 billion in available capital will be generated by bonding revenues from the tolls, which will be available to fund repairs and improvements to the subway, bus, and commuter rail systems.
In response to the 2017 New York City transit crisis of the MTA, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a plan similar to Bloomberg's, taking advantage of open road tolling technology and provide a revenue stream for the agency.
[52] In April 1977, Beame's administration released a report that opposed the addition of tolls,[53] a proposal that future Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan would address thirty years later.
[47] The next year, Koch's office sought to ban single-occupancy cars from the East River bridges during weekday morning rush hour, but the State Supreme Court ruled that the city did not have that authority.
[65] Since the final funding decision would be announced in August, Peters wrote in a letter to Governor Eliot Spitzer that if state approval was not met by July 16, "it is unlikely that New York City would be selected.
"[67] Although a commitment was not established by that date, on July 19, the State legislature approved the creation of a 17-member commission that would study different plans to reduce traffic in the city, including congestion pricing.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and other politicians expressed skepticism about the plan, raising several questions about its viability, its environmental effects on neighborhoods bordering the congestion zone, the lack of state control in Bloomberg's proposal, and what they believed to be a regressive tax on some commuters.
[87] Silver also stated that because the plan would reduce traffic in Manhattan's central business district but not necessarily elsewhere, neighborhoods with high asthma rates such as Harlem, the South Bronx, and Bedford-Stuyvesant would not benefit.
[88] The Queens Chamber of Commerce released a report that concluded that implementing congestion pricing would cause a net reduction in the number of people going into Manhattan's central business district each day.
[76][87] On July 9, 2007, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky issued a report that called the proposal thoughtful and bold, but expressing skepticism on points including financial fairness and environmental impact.
These alternatives included road space rationing; better traffic enforcement; time-of day pricing on mass transit; taxes on gasoline, payroll, commuting, or stock transfers; and fees on city parking permits.
[98] The deadline to approve the plan by the State Assembly was April 7, 2008, for the city to be eligible to receive US$354 million in federal assistance for traffic congestion relief and mass transit improvements.
[106] As complaints about the city subway's delays and disrepair reached a peak in mid-2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo drafted a congestion pricing proposal with lessons from Bloomberg's handling of the State Legislature.
Options the TBTA included in the RFT are roadside bluetooth readers, connected vehicle technology, smartphone applications, and Global Navigation Satellite System based tolling.
[138][139] A writer for Slate Magazine lauded the proposed charge, saying that it was "miraculously and inexplicably free" to drive a private car around Manhattan, and comparing it to the several-thousand-dollar average monthly rents for real estate in the borough.
[144] News outlets reported in February 2020 that the congestion fee could potentially be blocked by the federal government of the United States, due to disagreements between Cuomo and U.S. president Donald Trump.
It reported that MTA Chairman and CEO Pat Foye and NYCDOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg had met with Elaine Chao, the USDOT Secretary, to get an answer to this question in April 2019.
Following the city's partial reopening in June, a mayoral panel projected that many people would choose to drive, for fear that taking mass transit would expose them to COVID-19, and studied congestion pricing as a solution to lessen road traffic.
[152] Janno Lieber, then the MTA's Chief Development Officer, said on July 13, 2020 that congestion pricing could be delayed until 2022 because it would take one year to install the required infrastructure even after federal approval.
[184] Gottheimer and Mike Lawler introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives in early 2023, which would ban the MTA from using federal funding for its capital projects unless drivers were exempted from all taxes related to the congestion charge.
These new measures were in addition to the elimination of the $10 tag deposit fee for E-ZPass for drivers without a credit card backup and plans to electrify bus depots in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
[221] On April 20, 2024, in anticipation of congestion pricing, legislation was passed as part of the state budget that added new fines for drivers who obscure their license plates to avoid paying tolls.
[222] Meanwhile, further lawsuits were filed by Mark Sokolich, the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey;[223] the United Federation of Teachers labor union and Vito Fossella, the borough president of Staten Island;[224] residents of Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood;[225] the town of Hempstead, New York;[226] and small business owners.
[237] The NYCDOT also provided funding to encourage commercial vehicles in the congestion zone to make deliveries during off-peak hours,[238] while the MTA announced that it would reduce fares for some commuter rail trips[239] and increase service on some express bus routes.
[256] Congestion pricing advocates said the lack of congestion-toll revenue would negatively affect the transit system,[258] Those business groups were strongly opposed to the Governor's proposal to further increase the payroll tax in New York City.
[264] Streetsblog reported that Lieber initially tried to convince lawmakers to support a stopgap solution to fund the MTA with the hope that congestion pricing could be saved in the 2025 legislative session, but, pulled back after realizing the extent of the backlash to the Governor's decision.
The statement said that Hochul's decision put large sections of the 2020-2024 Capital Program at risk, and that the agency would deprioritize modernization and improvement projects, such as making stations ADA accessible, in favor of those necessary to maintain the basic operation of the system.
[293][295] A coalition of legal experts, advocates, potential plaintiffs, and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander indicated plans to overturn Hochul's pause of congestion pricing.
[344] Other reporting from Gothamist and Politico indicated that the offer included $30 million for environmental mitigation measures, an extension of the crossings credit to the George Washington Bridge, an agreement to cover half of the $1 billion remaining unfunded cost of the new Port Authority Bus Terminal and to prioritize improvements to the NJ Transit portions of the Penn Station Reconstruction project, and $1 million for a planning study for the Bergen Loop, which would enable one-seat rides to Penn Station from lines that required transfers at Secaucus Junction.
