US approves New York plan to impose $12 Manhattan congestion fee starting Jan 5
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New York's congestion charge is the first of its kind in the United States.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK - The US Transportation Department has approved New York’s plan to impose a US$9 ($12) congestion charge for driving in Manhattan starting on Jan 5, a move aimed at raising billions for mass transit and cutting traffic.
New York will now join a small club of global capitals around the world that includes London, Stockholm and Singapore that have installed similar tolling restrictions around their gridlocked centers and seen traffic and air quality improve.
The congestion charge, the first of its kind in the United States, was revived last week by Governor Kathy Hochul after she had put it on indefinite hold in June.
New York plans to charge a US$9 toll during daytime hours for passenger vehicles driving in Manhattan south of 60th Street.
It scrapped an earlier plan to charge US$15 that would have started on June 30 of this year.
The Federal Highway Administration said in a letter made public on Nov 22 that no additional environmental assessment was needed to impose the lower toll and that it was consistent with a review completed in 2023.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which approved the fee this week, said the toll will result in at least 80,000 fewer vehicles entering the zone daily, “relieving crowding in what is today the most congested district in the United States”.
New York is racing to implement the charge before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump, who has a Manhattan residence, said last week he strongly disagreed with the decision to implement the fee.
Ms Hochul said the toll is crucial to making new investment in subways and buses in New York, and that it will support US$15 billion in debt financing for mass transit improvement.
Trucks and buses will pay up to US$21.60, and there will be 75 per cent discounts for travelling at night. The fee will be charged once a day regardless of how many trips are made for car owners, while taxis will pay 75 cents per trip in the Manhattan zone and Uber or Lyft vehicles reserved by app will pay US$1.50 per trip.
But even as long-suffering supporters of congestion pricing celebrate, the tolling plan could still be upended.
The program is in jeopardy of being blocked by Trump, who has called it “the most regressive tax known to womankind”, and a volley of lawsuits.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a vocal opponent of the initiative, has said the plan puts an undue burden on New Jersey commuters who drive into New York for work.
“We’re going to try like heck” to stop congestion pricing, he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Nov 22.
“I don’t know what the alternative is for the MTA, but I strongly would like to encourage them to pursue other avenues.”
New York has said that more than 700,000 vehicles enter the Manhattan central business district daily, reducing travel speeds to around 11kmh on average, which is down 23 per cent since 2010. REUTERS, NYTIMES, BLOOMBERG
