New York City’s long-awaited congestion pricing plan began on a freezing night over the weekend when few drivers were on the road and transit workers could turn on tolling equipment at a relaxed pace.
But a tougher test is happening on Monday morning, when traffic has increased, with many commuters returning to work from holiday vacations. Some drivers were already adjusting to the new reality.
The tolling program, the first of its kind in the nation, aims to lessen traffic and pollution in a designated zone, which runs from 60th Street to the southern tip of Manhattan.
Officials have projected that the tolling program could eventually reduce the number of vehicles entering the congestion zone by at least 13 percent. On Monday, the average travel speed in the tolling zone was 12 miles per hour at 8 a.m., according to real-time data from INRIX, a transportation analytics firm. That was slightly slower than the 12.5 m.p.h. during the first non-holiday Monday in 2024.
On Monday, Shanoi Martinez, 38, left his home in Teaneck, N.J., a half-hour early at 6 a.m. to snag a parking spot at a garage on West 61st Street and avoid paying the toll. He normally parks at a garage inside the tolling zone next to Mount Sinai West hospital, where he works as a diagnostic specialist. “They want to charge me $9 for one block,” he said.
Mr. Martinez still ended up paying more for his commute, however, because his new garage costs $4 more than his previous garage. “It’s $4 more or $9 more,” he said. “I’ll take the $4.”
Some businesses had fewer customers early Monday morning. In Queens, there were rows of empty pumps at a gas station in Long Island City near the Queensboro Bridge. “Six, seven o’clock, eight o’clock is very busy, but today is nothing, you know,” said Amir Masood, 50, from behind a counter where he has worked for about four years.
There was confusion among some for-hire drivers who believed they would be charged the new toll.
Angel Rodriguez idled Monday morning in his silver S.U.V. on West 61st Street, just outside the congestion zone, hoping for a fare that would not take him into it. “It’s not good,” said Mr. Rodriguez, 33, a Washington Heights resident who has driven for Uber for nine years.
Asked why, he said it was because congestion pricing will cost him “mucho dinero” — even though passengers, not drivers, pay the tolls.
“It’s crazy,” he said.
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How much will the tolls cost?
Gov. Kathy Hochul had canceled the program in June because she said the tolls were too expensive. She revived it in November and slashed tolls across the board by 40 percent. Now, most cars will pay $9 to enter the congestion pricing zone instead of $15. But the tolls are projected to increase to $12 by 2028, and to $15 by 2031. -
If I don’t drive, do I need to care about congestion pricing?
The program is raising money for mass transit and could improve air quality and traffic in the congestion zone. But it also affects the price of an Uber in the congestion zone and could have an impact on how much businesses and restaurants in the zone charge customers. -
Has this plan worked anywhere else?
Similar plans are in place in other global capitals, including London, Stockholm, and Singapore. In those cities, a pattern has emerged in which the public resisted the tolls as they were introduced before growing to accept them.
Bernard Mokam and Sean Piccoli contributed reporting.
