New York to launch $9 Manhattan congestion charge in January

By David Shepardson

(Reuters) -New York plans to revive a $9 congestion mitigation charge for driving in Manhattan starting in January that the state indefinitely put on hold earlier this year, Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday.

New York City's congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the United States, was initially to have charged a toll of $15 during daytime hours for passenger vehicles driving in Manhattan south of 60th Street starting June 30 before Hochul put it on hold indefinitely.

Hochul said the new base charge for passenger vehicles will be $9 -- 40% less than initially announced -- and is crucial to making new investment in subways and buses in New York. She said the toll will support $15 billion in debt financing for mass transit improvement.

Trucks and buses are expected to pay more, and there will be discount for traveling at off-peak hours.

Hochul said the funding will help "begin to drive down gridlock and the emissions, as intended, and will deliver major environmental improvements.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is used by around 6 million people daily, is expected to vote next week to approve the charge.

The MTA has said congestion pricing would cut traffic by 17%, improve air quality, and increase mass transit use by 1% to 2%. In the aftermath of the delay, the MTA in June said it was putting $16.5 billion in capital projects on hold.

A U.S. Transportation Department spokesperson said New York notified the Federal Highway Administration of updated plans to advance the project with a starting toll of $9 for passenger cars. The agency is finalizing the steps needed to complete an agreement to let the program take effect.

Hochul had cited high inflation and a desire to not deter commuters or tourists because of the additional charge for her decision to halt implementation.

London implemented a similar charge in 2003.

A group of five New York Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives this week urged incoming President Donald Trump to kill the charge, asking him to end "this absurd congestion pricing cash grab." A Trump spokesperson did not immediately comment.

In 2019, state lawmakers approved the plan to help fund improvements in mass transit using tolls to manage traffic in New York City, the most congested of any American city.

New York says more than 900,000 vehicles enter the Manhattan Central Business District daily, which reduces travel speeds to around 7 miles (11 km) per hour on average.