Congestion pricing plan in New York City clears final federal hurdle

NEW YORK – Congestion pricing in New York City cleared its final federal hurdle, officials said on Monday, all but ensuring that the first such programme in the nation will begin in 2024 in an effort to reduce traffic and pollution in Manhattan and fund improvements to mass transit.

The programme would charge drivers a fee to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street, one of the world’s busiest and most traffic-clogged commercial districts.

Final approval was granted by the Federal Highway Administration, a spokesman said on Monday, and a local panel appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) can now decide on final toll rates, including any discounts, exemptions and other allowances.

The MTA, which runs the city’s subways and buses and the metropolitan area’s commuter railroads and is overseeing the congestion pricing programme, has not set a fee scale yet.

But a report it released in August 2022 showed that one proposal under review would charge US$23 (S$31) for a rush-hour trip into midtown and US$17 during off-peak hours.

The authority says the tolling programme could begin as soon as spring 2024.

“Congestion pricing will reduce traffic in our crowded downtown, improve air quality and provide critical resources to the MTA,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

“With the green light from the federal government, we look forward to moving ahead with the implementation of this programme.”

Supporters hailed the federal approval of congestion pricing, which was first proposed in New York in 2007 by then Mayor Michael Bloomberg but was defeated the following year by the state legislature.

“It’s extremely important that we focus on meeting our climate goals and improving our air quality and especially improving our quality of life when it comes to our mobility,” said Ms Renae Reynolds, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a non-profit dedicated to improving public transportation.

“Congestion pricing is going to help us do that by clearing up clogged roads, by investing in mass transit.”

Congestion pricing, which New York lawmakers approved in 2019, is expected to generate US$1 billion annually for the MTA.

Other cities around the world have had success with similar programmes.

According to research prepared for the United States Department of Transportation, London, Singapore and Stockholm all experienced less traffic after setting up tolls.

The money will be used to improve the city’s public transit network by building new elevators in the subways and modernising signals that keep trains moving.

By law, the money can only be used to pay for capital projects, not operating costs.

Experts say the programme would make getting around New York more equitable: It would levy a fee on drivers who can, at least in theory, afford to pay it, while helping those with less, since people who rely on mass transit tend to have lower incomes.

The plan is moving forward despite staunch opposition from taxi drivers, ride-share companies and suburbanites who do not want to pay to drive in Manhattan.

The most vociferous outcry has come from New Jersey leaders, who have cast congestion pricing as evidence of a border war and threatened legal action.

Mr Janno Lieber, the head of the MTA, said in an interview with CBS New York earlier in June that the authority has studied exempting drivers who have already paid a toll when they cross the Holland or Lincoln Tunnels from New Jersey. But he did not commit to the idea.

The state’s General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, passed a so-called Stay in Jersey Bill, offering businesses grants to let employees work from their New Jersey homes.

And New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, launched a billboard campaign criticising the programme.

Mr Murphy’s office on Monday said it had retained Mr Randy Mastro, an attorney known for his aggressive tactics, to “explore all legal options” to fight the tolls.

Senator Robert Menendez and Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Bill Pascrell Jr, all New Jersey Democrats, said in a statement on Monday that they were “outraged” by the federal move, charging that officials had failed to conduct a full review of the environmental impact of the programme in their state or its effect on low-income communities.

“This is nothing more than a cash grab to fund the MTA,” the statement said.

Other critics include taxi drivers and Lyft and Uber drivers, who point to research by the MTA showing that the tolls could trigger fare increases that could slash demand for taxis and for-hire rides by up to 17 per cent.

Last week, a group of taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers staged a protest outside Ms Hochul’s office and sent a letter demanding exemptions to the tolls.

“We ask you not to fund New York City’s public transportation system on the backs of an essential workforce that is still underpaid, overworked and subject to assault and danger,” wrote Ms Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which fights for better working conditions for taxi and app-based drivers.

To mitigate any negative impact of congestion pricing, the MTA has proposed limiting the number of times that drivers of taxis and for-hire vehicles can be tolled, giving certain low-income drivers a discount and increasing discounts for those driving into the area overnight.

It has also proposed periodically checking on small businesses in the tolling zone to see if the tolls harm them.

The MTA also intends to commit millions of dollars in investments to some neighbourhoods that could end up with dirtier air from diverted traffic.

That includes US$20 million for a programme to fight asthma and US$10 million to install air filtration units in schools near highways.

In May, the highway administration tentatively approved an updated draft of a report commissioned by the MTA that had identified ways to limit the potential harm of congestion pricing on disadvantaged communities.

That initial approval opened the draft to a 30-day public review before the final approval was granted. NYTIMES