Just one month after going into effect, congestion pricing in Manhattan already seems to be reaping its first rewards. According to a Morning Consult poll released by Partnership for New York City, the majority of citizens want to keep the $9 toll set by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, despite President Donald Trump’s promise to abolish it because it “hurts the city’s economy.”
The poll showed that 60 percent of the 1,200 respondents support the measure. Three out of four people said they experienced less traffic entering and leaving the area, but also circulating within the perimeter of Downtown Manhattan. New Yorkers believe this milestone is due to the enforcement of congestion pricing.
According to data reported by MTA and published by Bloomberg, pedestrians on Manhattan streets have increased by 4.6 percent since January 2024. Juliette Michaelson, MTA’s deputy director of external relations, said that between Jan. 5 and Feb. 4, one million fewer vehicles entered below 60th Street than the figure for the same period in 2024. That was an average of 250,000 fewer cars per week.
However, there are still many skeptics at the federal level, starting with Trump. The president has promised to lift the measure and has begun talks with New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to find common ground. The New York Times reported that the Department of Transportation is considering whether to withdraw the authorization that MTA received from the Biden administration last year sparking an unprecedented legal battle between the state and the federal government.
