As of today, there is no turning back. After a month of back-and-forth, which began with four public hearings where New Yorkers poured out all their discontent and criticism–quoting, “You are thieves!”–the Metropolitan Transportation Authority held a final vote and approved the congestion pricing plan today. It will charge drivers up to $15 entering the Central Business District below the 60th Street in Manhattan, but there are some exceptions, according to the Daily News. Let’s get clarity.
What areas are covered?
- The Central Business District starts from 60th Street to Battery Park.
What areas are excluded?
- The West Side Highway.
- The FDR Drive.
- The Battery Park Underpass.
- The highways that around Manhattan from the Upper West to the Upper East Sides.
- The Battery Tunnel, if entering and driving directly up to the Upper East or Upper West Sides.
- The Brooklyn Bridge, if going directly to the FDR Drive.
Who is going to pay?
- As long as drivers have E-ZPass on their vehicles they will be tolled a base of $15.
- For those who do not have E-ZPass, being motorcyclists, car or truck drivers, they will be charged 50% more and will not be eligible for discounts.
- Drivers will receive a $5 discount if entering CBD through already-tolled tunnels and bridges. Those means: Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Cross Bay Bridge, Henry Hudson Bridge, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (Triboro Bridge), Throgs Neck Bridge, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and the Queens Midtown Tunnel towards Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens; Bayonne Bridge, George Washington Bridge (GWB), Goethals Bridge, Outerbridge Crossing, Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel towards New Jersey.
- Between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., base toll will drop to $3.75, 75% off. But the $5 tunnel discount will not apply during those hours.
- Motorcyclists’ base toll will start at $7.50 and they will be discounted $2.50 when crossing a bridge or a tunnel.
- Small box trucks will be charged $24.
- Big rigs will pay a $36 base fee.
- Taxis, Ubers and other for-hire vehicle customers will pay an extra fare every time they enter the CBD.
Who is exempted?
- Transit and commuter buses, whether they operate by the MTA, another public agency or a private company, including MegaBus, Hampton Jitney or smaller TLC licensed commuter vans.
- School buses under contract with NYC Department of Education.
- Garbage trucks, street sweepers, emergency vehicles, and all the other specialized municipal carriers and city-owned cars used by NYC inspectors and agency officials.
When are they going to pay?
- All drivers are going to pay only once a day, including those who enter the CBD before 5 a.m. will be charged only the 75% discounted rate.
- Larger vehicles will pay the toll every time they pass below the 60th Street open road cameras.
When is the Congestion Pricing tolling plan kicking off?
- There is not a precise date, but MTA officials referred to mid-June.
How are drivers going to pay?
- Those with E-ZPass: the open road cameras have E-ZPass receivers will connect to the transponder’s unique identifier and charge it a toll.
- Those without E-ZPass will be tolled by mail using license plate cameras.
The MTA will decide to increase tolls by 25% on designated “gridlock alert days,” which typically include historically high-traffic periods such as the winter holidays or during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Over a decade ago, in 2007, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the first to propose the idea of congestion pricing inside his PlaNYC 2030 to cut down on traffic and pollution disincentivizing car use. But the motion stalled in the New York State Assembly. Ten years later, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a plan similar to Bloomberg’s that would take advantage of open road tolling technology, with cameras recording and tolling for every entering, and provide a revenue stream for the MTA. Two years of negotiation later, Governor Cuomo and former Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to implement congestion pricing, but due to various delays, COVID-19 pandemic, and so on, the rollout had yet to be approved.
