Motorists entering Manhattan’s busiest neighborhoods will now have to pay up to $9 in congestion charges, as New York City’s first-in-the-nation Congestion Relief Zone officially launched Sunday.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that the zone opened at 12:00:01 a.m. on Sunday morning and “is fully operational.”
The scheme aims to ease New York’s infamous traffic problems and raise money for public transportation. It comes into effect despite an eleventh-hour effort from neighboring New Jersey and local opposition including from President-elect Donald Trump.
Under the pricing plan, most cars entering Manhattan’s central business district — which stretches from 60th Street all the way down to the southern tip of the Financial District — must pay a peak fee of $9 from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
Off-peak would be a 75% discount — $2.25.
Small trucks and noncommuter buses will pay $14.40 to enter Manhattan at peak times, while larger trucks and tourist buses will pay a $21.60 fee.
Motorists will only be charged once a day, and exemptions include certain emergency and government vehicles, as well as low-income drivers and those who have medical conditions that prevent them from using mass transit. School and commuter buses are also exempt.
The MTA has predicted there would be 10% fewer cars and trucks after the toll begins. MTA executives have also promised that billions of dollars raised by congestion pricing will pay to modernize the system all across the region.
The program was reinstated after Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed to revive it after two years of delays and revisions amid complaints from commuters and businesses who don’t think the fare is fair.
But the real race was to get the pricing approved before Trump takes office in January.
Trump, a native New Yorker, has vowed to scrap the plan when he returns to the White House, and Republicans have already urged him to intervene.
The charges also began as scheduled despite a last-ditch attempt by New Jersey to block the plan on environmental grounds. The lawsuit from New Jersey, seeking tens of millions of dollars, predicted environmental harm if traffic gets worse on the other side of the river.
While the judge ruled that the Federal Highway Administration will need to weigh in, the MTA told NBC New York last week that it had the green light to proceed with the start of congestion pricing.
In response to New Jersey’s lawsuit, Hochul has said she offered money to settle it — but no deal was reached.
“We’ve made multiple offers to settle this lawsuit, very generous offers,” Hochul said previously.
New York may be the first American city to adopt congestion pricing, but similar schemes have long been in place in cities like London and Stockholm.
