Six months after the implementation of congestion pricing in New York City, traffic is down and business is up, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday.
In an announcement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Hochul said the congestion pricing program was doing what it was intended to do while raising revenues to fund transit improvements across the region. Activated at midnight on Jan. 5, the program reduces gridlock in Manhattan’s Congestion Relief Zone below 60th Street by charging motorists to enter the zone. Revenue from the program is expected to reach $500 million in 2025, which will allow MTA to advance $15 billion in critical capital improvement to its subway, bus and railroad systems.
“Six months in, it’s clear: congestion pricing has been a huge success, making life in New York better,” Hochul said. “In New York, we dare to do big things, and this program represents just that – traffic is down throughout the region, business is booming, transit ridership is up, and we are making historic upgrades to our transit system. We’ve also fended off five months of unlawful attempts from the federal government to unwind this successful program and will keep fighting – and winning – in the courts. The cameras are staying on.”
The state and the MTA have successfully defended repeated legal challenges to the pricing program, as well as have stood up to block the unlawful attempts of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Trump Administration to end the program. In May, a preliminary injunction was issued in a case between MTA and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that will keep the pricing program in effect pending further court proceedings and preventing the federal government from retaliating against the transit agency.
“Congestion relief is a massive success and validation of the initiative keeps pouring in,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “The program is achieving all of its goals in terms of traffic reduction, increased travel speeds, safety, noise reduction and more. And not only is Congestion Relief delivering all the projected benefits – and more – it’s also proving that New York State government can effectively execute major, ambitious initiatives that improve the quality of life in ways New Yorkers notice and appreciate.”
Officials said the congestion pricing program has reduced traffic, sped up the traffic flow and reduced delays throughout the region. The number of vehicles entering the zone is down by 11 percent since the program started, and every day 67,000 fewer vehicles enter the zone. An estimated 10 million fewer vehicles have entered the zone since its inception in January. Additionally, crashes in the zone are down by 14 percent, and traffic injuries are down by 15 percent.