After a Week of 'Congestion Pricing,' NYC Sees Results

A new toll on drivers entering the core of Manhattan brought modest but measurable traffic reductions to New York City's heavily gridlocked streets in its first week of operation, according to preliminary data released Monday by the state's transit authority. Known as "congestion pricing," the first-in-the-nation program launched on Jan. 5, collecting $9 from most passenger cars entering the city below Central Park during peak hours, and higher fees on trucks and other vehicles.

• In the days since, total traffic in the tolling zone has dropped by 7.5%—or roughly 43,000 cars per day—compared to the equivalent period last year, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said, per the AP. "Just look out the window: There is less traffic, quieter streets, and we think everyone has seen it," said the MTA's Juliette Michaelson. "Traffic patterns are already changing, and they will continue to change."

• First proposed decades ago, the program is intended to raise billions of dollars in revenue for the cash-strapped MTA while easing congestion on the city's streets. It follows similar initiatives in London, Singapore, and Stockholm, which also saw immediate reductions in traffic.
• The effect in New York has been most pronounced during the morning rush-hour period, with travel times over certain crossings—including the typically traffic-choked Holland and Lincoln tunnels that run under the Hudson River from New Jersey—falling by 40% or more, Michaelson said.
• Congestion pricing has sharply divided residents of New York and neighboring areas, touching off protests from many drivers, along with threats of sabotage and viral videos on how to evade the fee. Proponents of congestion pricing, meanwhile, have hailed its launch as a transformative moment for a city contending with worsening traffic and aging public-transportation infrastructure desperately in need of upgrades.
• Initially slated to begin in June, the program was halted at the last moment by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. A one-time supporter of the program, the Democrat said her position changed following conversations with "ordinary" New Yorkers. Hochul later revived the program at the lower price of $9 for most drivers, down from the $15 initially approved by the state. More here.

(More congestion pricing stories.)