MTA Approves Congestion Pricing for Lower Manhattan

Following a robust public comment period in which the MTA received 25,600 written comments and heard from 386 speakers at four public hearings, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board, in its capacity as the board of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, has approved Central Business District toll rates by a vote of 11 to 1.

The congestion pricing plan will be the first in the nation and won’t go into effect until June 1, 2024 but will likely face legal challenges before then.

Passenger vehicles and small commercial vehicles – sedans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and small vans – paying with a valid E-ZPass will be charged $15 during the day and $3.75 at night, when there is less congestion, to enter the congestion relief zone in Manhattan below 60th Street. They will be charged no more than once a day.

“Today’s vote is one of the most significant the Board has ever undertaken, and the MTA is ready,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “In advance of day one of tolling, we’ve increased service on 12 subway lines, advanced redesigns of the entire NYC bus network, and implemented the largest service increase in LIRR history. And there’s more to come with the funds raised from congestion pricing – more accessible stations, modernized subway signals, and new expansion projects like Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway and Metro-North Penn Station Access.”

Trucks and some buses will be charged a toll of $24 or $36 during the day to enter the congestion relief zone in Manhattan below 60th Street, depending on their size and function, and $6 or $9 at night. The toll for motorcycles will be $7.50 during the day and $1.75 at night. Yellow taxi, green cab and black car passengers will pay a $1.25 toll for every trip to, from, within or through the zone; customers of app-based for-hire vehicles will pay $2.50. As previously proposed, qualifying authorized emergency vehicles and qualifying vehicles carrying people with disabilities will be exempt. As will school buses contracted with the NYC Department of Education, buses providing scheduled commuter services open to the public, commuter vans licensed with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, and specialized government vehicles.

As previously proposed, a 50% discount will be available for low-income vehicle owners and a tax credit is available for low-income residents of the Central Business District.

Full details of the toll rates are available at the Central Business District Tolling home page.