NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 06: Cars pass a toll sign as they drive into Manhattan on January 06, 2025 in New York City. Congestion pricing began in parts of NYC on Sunday, after a late attempt by officials in neighboring New Jersey to stop it in court was unsuccessful. The toll, which charges drivers $9 to enter Manhattan during peak hours, is the first of its kind in America and hopes to ease traffic gridlock, improve air quality and help raise $15 billion for upgrades to the city’s transit system. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
An apparent drop in traffic heading into Manhattan on the first weekday day of congestion pricing has transit advocates cheering.
A tracker run by Brown University students showed a significant decline in average commute times for drivers taking the Holland and Lincoln tunnels Monday. While the average commute around 8 a.m. for drivers using the Holland Tunnel on a Monday was 23 minutes prior to congestion pricing, it plunged to 14 minutes at the same time Monday.
For drivers using the Lincoln Tunnel, the average commute was about nine minutes before Monday — and on Monday, it was five, according to the tracker.
Alex Ambrose, an analyst at progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, called it an “extremely exciting time for the New York City metro area.”
Congestion pricing went into effect Sunday just after midnight. Now, drivers will have to pay a $9 toll from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, with discounts outside of the timeframe (drivers using the Lincoln and Holland tunnels also get a discount).
It’s the nation’s first tolling program of its kind, modeled after similar plans in other countries. Public transit advocates say it will provide much-needed funds for New York City subways and buses, while also discouraging some motorists from driving into the city at all.
New Jersey sued federal officials in 2023 to halt the plan, alleging they gave it improper approval. The lawsuit is still alive, but a federal judge on Friday denied the state’s request to temporarily block congestion pricing from starting, and on Saturday a federal appeals court declined to hear New Jersey’s appeal.
The snow falling across New Jersey Monday morning likely impacted the number of motorists traveling into New York City, but South Jersey was expected to get the brunt of the bad weather, Ambrose noted.
“The whole point of congestion pricing is to get people to think twice about driving into the city, and another one of the benefits to mass transit is increased safety on days like today when we have severe weather,” she said.
New Jersey officials continue to slam the new tolling plan. Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, said Monday the new toll “unfairly penalizes” residents and is adding a “new financial burden to already high transportation costs.”
“The State Chamber has been working diligently to cheerlead our state’s many positive attributes to improve our image. Being treated like a pocketbook and second-class citizen by New York flies directly in the face of our image-building mission,” he said.
Assemblyman Michael Inganamort (R-Morris) called the toll a “money grab, plain and simple.”
Ambrose understands the concerns drivers have about paying a new toll and relying on NJ Transit, which many riders find unreliable. She called on lawmakers to make mass transit more affordable and accessible so people feel it is a good alternative to driving into Manhattan.
“The question is, why are our lawmakers focusing on pointing fingers and engaging in a blame game to score political points instead of exploring how to make our mass transit more reliable and affordable?” Ambrose said.
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