2023-05-12 20:10:06
what to know
- A 30-day public notice period begins before a final plan determination is made. If no roadblocks arise between now and then, drivers could start paying more starting next year.
- Federal approval could come as early as June, kicking off a 310-day countdown to start a toll ranging from $9 to $23 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street
- Late-night drivers entering the district below 60th Street (coined the Central Business District) will be charged 50% less between 12 am and 4 am; is one of several measures included in the state’s environmental assessment released to the public Friday
NEW YORK — Motorists driving on Manhattan’s most congested streets can expect a deep overnight discount when a projected toll goes into effect next year.
Late-night drivers entering the district below 60th Street (coined the Central Business District) will be charged 50% less between 12 am and 4 am; is one of several measures included in the state’s environmental assessment released to the public Friday.
New York’s congestion pricing plan is coming to an end as a 30-day public notice period begins, leaving the final determination on the state’s much-anticipated and much-debated congestion pricing plan just weeks away. At the end of the public review, the Federal Highway Administration will give the final green light.
The new toll rate, scheduled for next spring, has yet to be determined; that decision will rest with the MTA Board over the next year. But the assessment provides the first preview of some discounts offered to drivers once tolling begins.
Environmental justice efforts included in the assessment would provide low-income drivers a 25% discount after completing 10 trips in a calendar month; those 10 trips do not include overnight charges. Nearly $50 million has been earmarked for the driver discount program.
For the benefit of taxis and other rideshare operators, tolls will only be collected from those drivers once a day.
The MTA has long argued that congestion pricing is essential to their bottom line and would bring them $1 billion annually. Proceeds from the plan would be used to support capital improvement loans on the MTA’s subway and bus systems.
The New York Legislature approved a conceptual plan for congestion pricing in 2019 and was initially projected to be in place in 2021. But the pandemic and a lack of guidance from federal regulators on the type of environmental review that was required combined to stop the project.
The next step? A 30-day public notice period begins before a final plan determination is made. If no roadblocks arise between now and then, drivers could start paying more starting next year.
Federal approval could come as early as June, kicking off a 310-day countdown to start a toll ranging from $9 to $23 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.
The plan has many detractors. A large bipartisan pushback effort, backed by lawmakers on both sides of the Hudson River, sought to stop drivers from paying more to get to the city.
Some lawmakers in New Jersey have said the plan is unfair because motorists already pay bridge and tunnel tolls to enter New York, and congestion pricing money will not be used to improve public transportation in New Jersey. Some motorists who pay tolls to enter Manhattan from New Jersey are expected to receive discounts or be exempted.
New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer said federal approval doesn’t mean the plan is set in stone, or that it’s a good idea.
“Not only will it lead to more congestion and more traffic, but it will completely devastate commuters,” he said.
Last week, a group of New Jersey lawmakers wrote to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, urging her to suspend implementation of the congestion pricing plan.
“New Jersey commuters already pay a toll of $17 when crossing the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, almost double the toll paid on the bridges connecting Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. As a result, this congestion pricing would double taxes on New Jerseyans and result in our constituents paying over $40 just to go to work every day,” Rep. Mikie Sherrill and half a dozen other legislators wrote.
“At a time when families across the Northeast are already dealing with rising prices and high costs of living, this additional tax on simply going to work is unacceptable.”
New details from a recent MTA financial plan suggest that drivers won’t see the start of congestion pricing until April 2024, at the earliest.
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