New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has approved an updated congestion pricing plan for vehicles entering New York City’s Manhattan borough, which will include peak tolls between $14.40 and $21.60 for commercial trucks depending on size. The plan makes New York City the first in the U.S. to introduce such a toll, which has been introduced in other cities internationally, including London and Singapore.
Starting January 5, 2025, passenger vehicles and smaller commercial vehicles such as SUVs, vans and pick-up trucks will be charged $9 once a day during peak periods, while taxis and rideshares will be eligible for a reduced tolling rate between $0.75 and $1.50, which will be paid by passengers for each trip through the congestion zone. There will also be a discount plan for low-income drivers, as well as exemptions for emergency vehicles, buses, specialized government vehicles and vehicles transporting people with disabilities.
Now that the MTA has approved the new tolling structure, the agency will start a public education period, before finalizing the pilot program agreement ahead of the January 2025 launch. In June 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called off an earlier version of the congestion pricing plan just two weeks before it was supposed to go into effect. That iteration would have charged passenger vehicles $15 per entry each day, and $24-36 for commercial trucks, which sparked a lawsuit from the state’s trucking association, who claimed that the plan was unfairly targeting delivery drivers with the highest rates.
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Although the tolls were originally designed as a means to quell traffic and reduce emissions, Hochul said at the time that she was concerned the program would have “too many unintended consequences” for middle-class families moving in and out of the congestion zone.
