Congestion pricing in New York: MTA announces plan to begin June 30
NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City’s controversial congestion pricing plan officially has a start date.
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber joined Eyewitness News on Friday to announce that the plan will go into effect for New Yorkers early on Sunday, June 30 at 12:00:01 am.
“I’m excited, it’s a beautiful spring day in New York, I’m surrounded by tourists and people who came to Lower Manhattan, took public transportation,” Leiber said. “More than ninety percent of people come to the congestion zone, to the central business district, walking, biking and, above all, taking public transportation. We are a public transportation city and we are going to make being in New York be even better.”
The $15 toll will be implemented for cars traveling below 60th Street in the congestion relief zone during rush hour.
Lieber noted that since congestion pricing begins at midnight on the morning of June 30, early adopters will only be charged the $3.75 nightly rate. Drivers will not have to pay the $15 fare until 9 a.m. Sunday morning.
Officials say the toll will result in 100,000 fewer vehicles entering the Congestion Relief Zone each day, resulting in less traffic and cleaner air, and revenue generated by the program will fund critical transportation investments.
“Five years after the legislature enacted New York State’s congestion pricing law, and with 4,000 pages of analysis, hundreds of hearings and outreach meetings under our belt, New Yorkers are ready for the benefits: less traffic, cleaner air, safer streets and better transit.
Most passenger vehicles and passenger-type vehicles with commercial license plates would be charged a toll of $15 during the peak period (5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends) and $3.75 overnight. Those vehicles would be charged only once a day.
Trucks and buses would be charged a toll of $24 or $36 in the peak period, depending on their size and purpose. Night tolls would be $6 and $8.
Motorcycles would be charged $7.50, no more than once per day.
“July and August are the slowest times of year for yellow cabs, as New Yorkers opt to walk and vacation out of the city,” said New York Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director Bhairavi Desai. “For a few weeks in August, Manhattan feels like a ghost town, leaving drivers driving around for hours in a desperate search for fares. Although it wouldn’t be a good time for the MTA to add a third tax that will decimate travel “Struggling taxi drivers, starting during the dreaded summer crisis, will make it almost impossible to survive. The Governor needs to step in and intervene now, before they drown, not after the damage is done.”
The MTA also on Friday presented a new portal for those who want to learn more about eligibility for discounts or exemptions.
Exemptions include: a low-income discount plan, an individual disability exemption plan, an organizational disability exemption plan, emergency vehicles, commuter buses and vans, and specialized government vehicles.
Additionally, New York State will offer a tax credit for low-income drivers who live in the Congestion Relief Zone. The New York State Department of Finance will issue more information on the tax credit in fall 2024.
Opponents say the tariffs are a burden on workers and will raise prices for basic goods transported into the city by truck. New York’s plan has sparked lawsuits from small business owners and the state of New Jersey, demanding more comprehensive environmental assessments before the plan moves forward.
“Not so fast. We’re expecting a court ruling as soon as next month on whether the MTA’s unprecedented congestion pricing plan can move forward, given the obvious deficiencies in the environmental review done here and the lack of mitigation provided for the environmental impact of New Jersey communities,” said Governor Phil Murphy’s administration outside counsel Randy Mastro. “And that’s just one of many pending and anticipated lawsuits challenging this hugely flawed plan. So the jury is still out.”
READ ALSO | Congestion Pricing in New York: What you need to know
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