The governing board of New York City’s public transportation network has approved a much-debated congestion pricing plan, which includes charging $15 for motorists entering Manhattan during high traffic hours.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board voted 11 to 1 to charge most commercial and passenger vehicles that would drive into Manhattan’s central business district, specifically the blocks south of 60th Street.
Under the plan, $15 will be charged once daily for passenger cars that enter the designated area between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Trucks and buses—depending on their size—will be charged $24 or $36 to enter the zone during peak hours.
The plan does include carveouts for certain private buses and many city-owned cars. For example, commuter buses operated by the MTA and school buses contracted with the city’s education department are exempt from the toll. Specialized city vehicles like fire trucks and snow plows will also be exempt.
Carl Weisbrod, an MTA board member who chaired the Traffic Mobility Review Board that devised the plan, said the measure will benefit people beyond Manhattan.
“It’s for the people in the region. Congestion pricing we know is going to produce less pollution in the region, less congestion in the region and a better economy for the region,”Mr. Weisbrod said.
David Mack, who represents suburban Nassau County, cast the sole opposing vote.
“Don’t kill the goose that lays the egg,” Mr. Mack told fellow MTA board members before the vote.
Although MTA officials said they hope to implement the congestion pricing program as early as this June, the challenges are far from resolved.
The program remains the target of several ongoing lawsuits in various courts, including one filed in a federal court in New Jersey by Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration. The Democrat governor has vowed to use every tool at his disposal to fight what he called an “unfair and unjust” plan on behalf of Manhattan commuters living in his state, who already have to pay the tolls at the Hudson and Lincoln tunnels.
“This is far from over, and we will continue to fight this blatant cash grab,” Mr. Murphy said Wednesday following the vote. “The MTA’s actions today are further proof that they are determined to violate the law in order to balance their budget on the backs of New Jersey commuters.”
Wednesday’s vote comes five years after then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law mandating the MTA to impose the toll as part of his administration’s efforts to improve traffic, reduce air pollution, and raise $1 billion a year to fund the MTA’s public transportation capital program.
“Congestion pricing is the only logical and realistic option to fund the MTA’s capital needs,” Mr. Cuomo said at the time, claiming that most drivers wouldn’t be affected by the change because driving into Manhattan is a “luxury” and only “very rich people” can afford it.
“Outer-borough residents are not driving their cars into Manhattan. That’s not how they come in,” the now-disgraced Democrat governor said then. “I’m a Queens boy. Only very rich people can drive into Manhattan. You have to pay the toll. You have to pay parking ... It probably comes close to $100 a day.”
Last year, however, Mr. Cuomo dramatically softened his stance, instead calling on state officials to hold off on implementing the plan he pushed through the state Legislation in 2019.
“There’s been a change in circumstance,” he said in an interview with Fox 5 News, speaking of drivers. “The cost has gotten too high ... I don’t want to pay a higher toll to drive into New York City that has high crime, that has homelessness. I'll stay home.”
“I would like to see an analysis that shows today’s present reality,” he said. “If you raise the tolls, would you cause more people to stay home, which would in fact raise less money?”
