Congestion pricing is coming. The opponents are still furious.

Commuters worry their ride to Lower Manhattan will be more expensive. Residents fear that their neighborhoods will be flooded with new traffic. Taxi drivers are afraid of losing even more customers.

For years, the same complaints have followed officials on the long road to the nation’s first congestion pricing plan, which will charge motorists tolls for entering much of Manhattan below 60th Street.

As the plan moves closer to reality, officials hope New Yorkers will be convinced once they see it in action. According to proponents, the benefits are clear: less traffic and pollution and ultimately a better transport system.

But some critics still wonder who will benefit most immediately — and who might be harmed.

New Jersey officials accused New York of overburdening its residents with new tolls. Some activists say the diverted freight traffic could worsen asthma rates in the Bronx, which are already high.

And Staten Island Borough President Vito J. Fossella cited research from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority showing that parts of the borough could see more vehicles as drivers may travel around the toll zone.

“This is a three-stroke loser for the people of Staten Island,” Mr. Fossella said. “Air pollution will get worse on Staten Island. Traffic will get worse.”

In a report released Thursday, an MTA advisory panel presented its final recommendations. It called for cars to pay $15 once a day to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. Commercial trucks would pay as much as $36. Taxis would add $1.25 per ride, and taxi apps like Uber and Lyft will charge an additional $2.50 per ride.

Under the plan, low-income drivers will receive a 50 percent discount on tolls during the day after the first ten trips in a calendar month. (The vast majority of commuters entering Manhattan are not low income, according to a 2022 study from the Community Service Society of New Yorkan anti-poverty group.)

The authority, the state agency that runs New York City’s subways and buses, would oversee the toll program, which could start as early as next spring. The rates proposed this week will be subject to public hearings before a final vote, which could happen early next year.

Sarah M. Kaufman, executive director of the Rudin Center for Transportation at NYU, said other cities with congestion pricing programs have mostly encountered public resistance during the first six months of their existence, but eventually support grows.

“Once people get used to the new reality, they are pleasantly surprised by the reduced amount of traffic or how they were able to absorb the additional costs,” Ms. Kaufman said. “Traffic safety has improved and there is less noise pollution.”

But for now, the program still has many critics, including a member of the MTA advisory board.

Johannes Samuelsen, international chairman of the Transport Workers Union, left the board in protest on Thursday. Mr Samuelsen said the fees, credits and exemptions being considered by the authority are not enough to help drivers who cannot use public transport or who cannot afford extra costs. He also said the MTA needs to dramatically improve service before the launch of the congestion pricing program to encourage more people to ride the subway and buses.

“The MTA has stubbornly and moronically stuck to its position that the status quo is sufficient,” Samuelsen wrote in a statement. “The result is that we have a congestion pricing plan that is just a stick and not a carrot.”

Congestion pricing could also increase the government’s debt burden. While the program will provide critical funding for improvements to the transit network, a May 2023 report from Thomas P. DiNapoli, the state comptroller, notes that much of that funding is expected to come from the use of bonds that cover the debt of would boost the authority to $56.7. billion by 2028.

Some experts worry that traffic diverted by the toll could create new bottlenecks outside the zone.

The new report recommends charging passengers in yellow cabs less than those who use rental vehicles, to address concerns that passenger demand will decline and taxis will be at a disadvantage compared to Uber and Lyft. But to the frustration of taxi drivers, it does not give them the full relief they longed for.

Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which calls for better working conditions for taxi drivers and app-based drivers, said the proposal would “devastate an entire workforce.” An Uber spokesperson said the MTA should offer discounts for late-night use of taxis and Ubers instead of personal vehicles to combat drunken driving.

What everyone can agree on is that congestion pricing will generate billions of dollars intended to improve the continent’s largest public transportation network while driving cars out of one of the world’s busiest commercial corridors.

“Congestion pricing will reduce congestion in the region’s traffic-choked core and raise much-needed funds for public transportation,” said Tom Wright, president and CEO of the Regional Plan Association, a group that has advocated for congestion pricing. “The policy will benefit the vast majority of commuters, residents and businesses in the region who rely on public transport, and will benefit motorists who suffer some of the worst traffic conditions in the country.”

But the association also recommended changes to the proposed rates by providing more credit to motorists entering the zone through tunnels and bridges.

Reaction to the program was mixed among residents of the toll zone, with some expressing support and others critical of the additional costs for drivers. Those who live within the zone must pay the toll, but if they make less than $60,000 they can receive state tax credits to offset the costs.

Shantee Lundee, 38, of Hell’s Kitchen, relies on her car to get around as a dog walker and hospice worker. Ms Lundee said she recently had to increase her rates due to the rising cost of living. The likely arrival of congestion pricing, she said, was the “last straw” in her recent decision to move to Long Island.

“We can’t pick ourselves up,” Mrs. Lundee said. “There are no breaks.”

Joshua Needelman contributed to this report.