New York Congestion Pricing Plan Gains Final Federal Approval

Congestion pricing for New York City has cleared its final federal hurdle, leaving a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)-appointed panel to decide on final toll rates and exemptions, public transit advocates celebrating, and those apprehensive of changes to the status quo crying foul.

The first of its kind in the United States, the Big Apple’s congestion pricing program will aim to provide critically needed revenue for the MTA while reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality, writes the New York Times.

The MTA has said the program, which will charge drivers a fee to enter Midtown Manhattan (anywhere south of 60th Street), could begin as early as next spring.

Final toll rates remain uncertain, though one proposal viewed by the Times suggested US$23 for a rush hour trip and $17 during off-peak hours.

Expectations are that the congestion pricing program, which has been in the works since state lawmakers approved it in 2019, will generate an annual US$1 billion for the cash-strapped transit agency. “Other cities around the world have had success with similar programs,” notes the Times, citing London, Singapore, and Stockholm as cases in point.

Significantly, the monies raised for the MTA “can only be used to pay for capital projects, not operating costs.”

Transit and environmental justice advocates welcomed news of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s final greenlighting of the program.

“It’s extremely important that we focus on meeting our climate goals and improving our air quality and especially improving our quality of life when it comes to our mobility,” said Renae Reynolds, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a non-profit dedicated to improving public transportation. Congestion pricing is a key piece of that puzzle, she told the Times.

The program already exempts vehicles containing people with disabilities and authorized emergency vehicles. And New Yorkers who live south of 60th and earn less than $60,000 per year will be able to apply for a state tax credit that effectively balances out the toll.

Currently petitioning Governor Kathy Hochul for their own exemption from the toll are taxi drivers and for-hire companies like Lyft and Uber who fear that fare increases triggered by congestion pricing could slash demand by as much as 17%.

“We ask you not to fund New York City’s public transportation system on the backs of an essential work force that is still underpaid, overworked, and subject to assault and danger,” wrote Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, in a letter addressed to Hochul.

The Times says the MTA has proposed limiting the number of times that drivers of taxis and for-hire vehicles can be tolled.

But the plan’s “most vociferous” adversaries have been largely Democratic lawmakers from New Jersey who fear a voter backlash from suburban constituents accustomed to slipping into NYC free of charge for work and play, the news story adds. The lineup of opponents includes Gov. Phil Murphy, Sen. Robert Menendez, and Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Bill Pascrell, Jr.

In a statement excoriating FHWA for approving the congestion pricing program, New Jersey politicians described the plan as “nothing more than a cash grab to fund the MTA”. They accused officials of failing to conduct a full review of the environmental and socio-economic impacts on their state, especially in low-income communities.

The MTA says it plans periodic check-ins with small businesses in the tolling zone to see if congestion pricing is hurting them.

The agency has also pledged to “commit millions of dollars investments to some neighbourhoods that could end up with dirtier air from diverted traffic,” the Times says. The funding package “includes $20 million for a program to fight asthma and $10 million to install air filtration units in schools near highways.”