New York City congestion pricing plan clears last federal hurdle
Congestion charges in New York City removed the latest federal hurdle, but set the first such program in the country to launch next year in an effort to reduce traffic and pollution in Manhattan and fund public transportation improvements.
The program would charge drivers a fee to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street, with the goal of discouraging cars from squeezing into one of the world’s busiest commercial districts.
Final approval was granted by the Federal Highway Administration, a spokeswoman said Monday, and a local panel appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority can now decide on final toll rates, including any discounts, waivers and other surcharges.
The MTA, which runs the city’s subways and buses and the metropolitan area’s commuter rail lines and oversees the congestion pricing program, has not yet set a fee scale. But a report it released in August found that one proposal under review would cost $23 for a ride to Midtown during rush hours and $17 during off-peak hours.
The authority says the toll program could begin as early as spring 2024.
Congestion charging advocates cheered the news of the federal approval.
“It is extremely important that we focus on meeting our climate goals and improving our air quality and especially improving our quality of life when it comes to our mobility,” said Renae Reynolds, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a non-profit dedicated to improving public transportation. “Congestion prices will help us by clearing clogged roads, by investing in public transport.”
Congestion pricing, which New York lawmakers approved in 2019, is expected to do as well generate $1 billion annually for the MTA
The money will be used to improve the city’s public transport network, including building new elevators in the subways and modernizing signals that keep trains moving. By law, the money may only be used to pay for capital projects, not to pay operating expenses.
Experts say the program would make travel in New York more equitable: It would levy a fee on drivers who, at least in theory, can afford to pay it, while helping those who have less, as people who depend on public transport tend to have less incomes.
The plan is going ahead despite stiff opposition from taxi drivers, ridesharing companies and suburban residents who don’t want to pay to drive in Manhattan.
The most vociferous outcry has come from New Jersey leaders, who have cited congestion pricing as evidence of a border war and threatened legal action.
The state’s General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, has a so-called Stay in Jersey bill, which offers companies grants to allow employees to work from their homes in New Jersey. And the state’s Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, launched an advertising campaign criticism of the program.
Senator Robert Menendez and Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Bill Pascrell Jr., all New Jersey Democrats, said in a statement Monday that they were “outraged” by the federal move, accusing officials of failing to conduct a full investigation into the environmental impact of the program in their state or its effect on low-income communities. “This is nothing more than a money grab to fund the MTA,” the statement said.
Other critics include cab drivers and Lyft and Uber drivers pointing to research from the MTA showing that the tolls could drive fare increases that could reduce demand for cabs and rentals by as much as 17 percent.
Last week, a group of taxi and rental car drivers staged a protest outside Governor Kathy Hochul’s office and sent a letter demanding exemptions from the toll.
“We ask that you not fund New York City’s public transportation system on the back of a vital workforce that continues to be underpaid, overworked, and subject to mistreatment and danger,” wrote Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers. Alliance, which fights for better working conditions for taxi and app-based drivers.
To limit possible negative consequences of congestion charging, the MTA has proposed limiting the number of times taxi and rental car drivers can be tolerated, giving a discount to certain low-income drivers and increasing discounts for those driving into the area at night. It has also suggested periodically checking small businesses in the toll zone to see if the toll is harming them.
The MTA also plans to invest millions of dollars in some neighborhoods that could end up with dirtier air from diverted traffic. That includes $20 million for an asthma control program and $10 million to install air filtration units in schools near freeways.
Last month, the highway administration tentatively approved an updated draft of a report commissioned by the MTA that identified ways to reduce the potential harm of congestion charges to underprivileged communities. That initial approval opened the concept for a 30-day public review before final approval was granted.