The first congestion pricing program in the United States is taking final form in New York City, with most drivers expected to pay $15 to enter some of Manhattan’s busiest streets as early as next spring.
Public transit officials on Wednesday provided the clearest picture yet of the tolls they hope to implement. Their goal is to raise about $1 billion annually to fund improvements to the city’s subway and bus networks.
The program faces several hurdles, including a final vote by transportation leaders and a legal challenge from New Jersey officials. But after several failed attempts spanning decades, New York appears poised to join a handful of other global centers with a tolling program aimed at encouraging public transit use, reducing pollution, and some of the world’s busiest roads – say 100 km – to free the southern third of Manhattan from traffic jams.
In a 19-page report, transportation officials said passenger cars would have to pay a toll of up to $15 once a day and commercial vehicles would pay up to $36. Taxis charge an additional $1.25 per ride, and ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft charge an additional $2.50 per ride.
The report also showed who gets the biggest discounts, credits and exemptions, which have been hotly debated questions. The recommendations were narrowed down based on a list of possibilities that had been examined over the past year.
“This is a major step forward for the region,” said Carl Weisbrod, chairman of the Traffic Mobility Review Board, an advisory panel that wrote the report. “We’ve seen it work elsewhere in the world, and now it’s becoming concrete.”
London, Stockholm and Singapore have congestion programs that are considered role models because they have successfully curbed traffic.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, which would oversee the program, could still make adjustments to the pricing structure. When the advisory group’s report is released on Thursday, it will be made available to the public. And opponents of congestion pricing are still trying to derail it in court.
The plan had been stalled for decades due to numerous complaints from commuters and civic and business leaders: Many motorists feared having to pay new tolls on top of existing tolls, and other critics feared that traffic and pollution would spread to other parts of the city would be relocated.
Various groups, including taxi and Uber drivers and suburban residents, have requested exemptions, delaying approval of the program. The most aggressive objection came from New Jersey lawmakers, who sued the federal government in July over signing the plan. Officials in that state expressed concerns that the tolls would place an unfair financial and environmental burden on residents. The legal dispute remains unresolved.
But for now, there is nothing stopping the MTA from moving forward with the program and presenting a pricing structure that is most likely close to its final version.
The most recently proposed toll of $15 is about the middle of the range of fees the agency considered, which ranged from $9 to $23. The advisory group’s tolling structure also includes minimal exemptions, discounts and credits, which Weisbrod said was done to help “the many, not the few.”
Low-income drivers receive a 50 percent discount on tolls during the day after the first 10 trips in a calendar month. Driving at night will also be significantly cheaper: between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. the fees will be reduced by 75 percent.
Drivers of passenger vehicles entering the congestion pricing zone through the Queens-Midtown, Hugh L. Carey, Holland and Lincoln tunnels will receive a $5 credit during the day. Motorcycles receive a $2.50 discount, small commercial vehicles receive a $12 credit, and larger trucks receive a $20 discount.
Certain vehicles transporting people with disabilities and approved emergency vehicles are not charged. Individuals whose primary residence is within the toll district and whose income is less than $60,000 would be eligible for a state tax credit equal to the amount of their toll.
The report’s authors had a hard time deciding how much to charge for commercial vehicles because they worried that some of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods could become dirtier as a result of rerouted traffic. But the MTA has now officially committed millions of dollars in investments to these communities, including $20 million for an asthma control program and $10 million to install air filtration systems in schools near highways.
The hope, Mr. Weisbrod said, is that professional drivers will choose to drive at night to ease daytime traffic and prevent new bottlenecks from forming.
The group had also taken issue with the level of taxi fares, with taxi drivers concerned that higher fares would reduce demand for taxis. The new report recommends charging yellow taxis less than rental vehicles to address concerns that additional costs would put them at a disadvantage compared to Uber and Lyft. However, this does not give taxi drivers the full exemption they were seeking.
This week’s proposed tariffs will undergo public hearings before a final vote that could come as early as early next year. The MTA, meanwhile, said it has already installed 60 percent of the electronic equipment needed to toll drivers.