The advent of MTA’s contentious congestion pricing scheme in Manhattan is getting closer and closer as 95% of the toll scanners have reportedly been placed, covering 104 of the 110 locations that were originally intended, the agency stated on Wednesday.
According to the strategy, vehicles entering Manhattan at 61st Street and below will have to pay an extra $15, while trucks may have to pay between $24 and $36, depending on their size. Currently, the collection readers are expected to go “live” on June 15 at the latest.
Any car entering the so-called Central Business District (CBD), which extends from Manhattan’s 60th Street and lower down to the southernmost point of the Financial District, will be affected by congestion pricing.
On weekdays, the full daytime prices would be available from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on weekends, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The board recommended that toll prices be reduced by about 75% during off-peak hours (weekdays from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and on weekends from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.), or $3.50 instead of $15 for a passenger car.
The only fees for drivers would be to enter the zone; they would therefore not be charged to remain there. This implies there won’t be any fees for locals who enter the CBD and circle their block in search of parking. Furthermore, there will only be a single daily toll collected – thus anyone who enters the area, leaves, and then returns will only be assessed a single toll for that day.
Taxis will not be subject to the toll; nevertheless, drivers will be assessed a $1.25 extra per trip. Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare drivers are subject to the same policy; however, they will be assessed a $2.50 premium. After the first ten journeys in a month, low-income drivers who make less than $50,000 annually may apply to pay half of the daytime toll.
The MTA update is released one day ahead of the first of four in-person and virtual public hearings where the public will be able to offer feedback on the proposed plan and recommend changes prior to a final vote in the spring.
The agency’s board declared that taxing drivers would infuse millions of cash into the deteriorating city’s transportation infrastructure, and they decisively voted in favor of the proposal in December. It has insisted that the intention is to begin collecting tolls in late Spring 2024, when the scheme may really go into service.
