On Nov. 21, the Federal Highway Administration approved the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to implement a long-debated, and now revamped, congestion pricing scheme in New York City.
The new plan was tabled by NYS Governor, Kathy Hochul, earlier this month and now that the Biden administration has approved it, it means that new tolls are on their way to New York City early in the New Year.
The new plan, which goes into effect on Jan 5, 2024, reduces the base fare down from an original $15 to $9.
In a statement, Catherine Sheridan, president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels/Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority said, “We are pleased to have received formal approval from the Federal Highway Administration for the phase-in feature of the Central Business District Tolling Program.”
The original scheme, which was scheduled to be implemented at the end of June this year, was going to charge motorists $15 for entering the core of Manhattan and was expected to generate about $1 billion annually.
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However, due to the cost-of-living crisis gripping the city, Hochul abruptly halted the implementation of the plan, saying at the time that she was pausing the program “indefinitely.”
However, the $9 toll is only temporary, the plan is to increase it up to the $15 mark by 2031.
The scheme allows for some minor relief for low-income drivers making less than $50,000 a year. After hitting their 10th toll each month, the cost to travel will be slashed in half for any other trips that month.
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An uncertain future
The plan is facing legal opposition by a number of stakeholders including by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, New Jersey Sen. George Helmy, and the New York trucking Association, who are challenging the tolling system in both state and federal court.
Kendra Hems, the Trucking Association’s president, said in a statement, “While political leadership is now saying the right things about bringing down the cost of living in the state, New Yorkers should not be fooled by the rhetoric: this new congestion pricing plan is still bad for the economy, will still cause supply chain disruptions, and will still raise the price of goods upon which households across the five boroughs and its surrounding suburbs rely.”
The plan has also caught the attention of President-elect Donald Trump, who previously said he would “terminate” the program once he takes over the White House in January.
Sen. George Helmy, speaking Sunday on CBS News’ “The Point with Marcia Kramer,” said it’s going to hurt people from the Garden State who work in Manhattan.
He said, “I think, frankly, it’s bad for New Jersey and it’s bad for the city. Let me start by saying, having been a chief of staff and a two-time senate staffer, mass transit in this nation is wholly underfunded, and we need to find ways to continue the investments as our population grows, our cities grow, and we need to get people out of cars and into mass transit. That being said, at a time where working families in New York City, the surrounding boroughs and in New Jersey are facing affordability crunches, to double-toll them as they come over our bridges and into the Central Business District, I think is a mistake.”
Gov. Murphy believes a number of companies could relocate across the Hudson River in order to avoid the congestion pricing tolls.
“The Murphy Administration continues to pursue this in court. I’m sure they’re going to take it up with the incoming federal administration. But at the same time, I think that is going to be the reality. A lot of the employees who come to the city every day are New Jerseyans, mostly north New Jerseyans or live in our shore communities, and if they can get our businesses to move into Jersey City or Hoboken, where we’re already seeing some of that influx, I think it’s going to be good for New Jersey,” CBS New York reported.
