New York City’s motorists let out a whole lot of hot air from their windpipes this week after the MTA board gave its final approval for congestion pricing. As soon as June, they’ll pay a $15 base toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.
“I think they’re robbing everybody for 15 bucks a day,” griped Borough Park driver Jason Lopez, 47, as he was stuck in lower Manhattan gridlock on Wednesday, hours after the tolls were approved. “I’d rather take the ferry now.”
Lopez’s response is exactly what the MTA wants. A key goal of congestion pricing is reducing traffic in the busiest parts of Manhattan by as much as 20% by pushing commuters out of their cars and onto mass transit. By law, the money from the tolls must pay for upgrades to subways, buses and commuter rails. The MTA says air quality in Manhattan will improve as a result of the program.
But don’t tell that to drivers like Financial District resident Melissa Carrasquillo, who thinks the whole scheme is yet another fee in a city that’s hard to afford.
“It’s terrible for people that live in the city [Manhattan] to charge us for being in the same borough that we live in,” said Carrasquillo, 42, who noted she scored a cheap downtown apartment with free garage parking years ago. “Some of us, we take mass transit, but some of us do own cars. And I think it’s terrible that they keep tacking on extra taxes and fees for us.”
MTA officials point out they’ve made some concessions to drivers who live in the congestion zone: The 2019 state law authorizing the program grants people who earn $60,000 a year or less a tax credit equivalent to the tolls they pay.
Cab drivers also weren’t fans of the tolls. The Taxi Workers Alliance interrupted the MTA board vote Wednesday, chanting their disapproval over an aspect of the plan to add an additional $1.25 surcharge to yellow and green cab trips that enter the zone.
The Trucking Association of New York also took issue with the tolls, which will go up to $36 for large trucks, claiming in a statement the city will “soon see increased prices for basic goods.”
Still, some drivers saw benefits to the plan — and thought the fees would be worth it if they reduce traffic in Manhattan.
“I do think it is congested, and I do think we should pay our way,” said Darrell Martin, 57, a Tesla driver stuck in traffic on Church Street. “I’m probably one of the only New Yorkers you’re going to find driving that is actually for it.” We’re also asking Gothamist Instagram followers if they agree with the MTA board’s decision to approve the tolls. As of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, with 510 votes:
45% supported the decision
37% did not support it
14% were unsure
4% said they didn’t know what congestion pricing is. (We can only hope these 21 voters will sign up for this newsletter.)
You can cast your vote on Gothamist's Instagram Story until 8 p.m. Thursday. We’ll share the final results on our Instagram Feed Friday afternoon and give followers a chance to comment with their thoughts on the incoming tolls.
In the wake of four subway shootings since the start of 2024, NYPD officials argued that cracking down on fare evasion will help reduce crime since people who commit crimes often don’t pay their fare. Read more.
A 16-year-old girl was hit and killed by a G train while walking on the tracks near the 4th Avenue–9th Street station in Park Slope on Tuesday, marking the fourth fatal subway strike within a 24-hour period. Read more.
The MTA will outfit more than 100 New York City buses with real-time security camera display screens near the front in an effort to deter criminals and provide immediate evidence to law enforcement. Read more.
Roughly 11,000 New York City school buses, 15,000 municipal vehicles and charter buses operated by Megabus and Hampton Jitney are among the vehicles that scored exemptions from congestion pricing tolls. Read more.
Tracks Raw Bar and Grill, once a beloved haunt for commuters inside Penn Station, is opening a restaurant inside the Long Island Rail Road’s Grand Central Madison terminal. Read more.
The Port Authority signed off on a $160 million plan to create a publicly accessible street connection in Newark’s South Ward to Newark Liberty International Airport’s AirTrain and rail station. Read more.
The MTA installed yellow metal protective barriers on the Bryant Park subway station’s 7 train platform as part of the agency’s pilot program aimed at preventing people from falling on the tracks. (PIX11)
Curious commuter
"Why won’t the MTA do away with antiquated 'weekend schedules?'"
- A. Reilly, Brooklyn
What Clayton says:
The MTA runs fewer trains and buses on weekends simply because fewer people ride on those days. Subway turnstiles clock about 3.8 million entries per weekday, while transit buses see about 1.2 million. That’s roughly double the ridership on Saturdays or Sundays. In the aftermath of the pandemic, riders have returned at a higher rate on weekends than on weekdays, largely due to the popularity of remote work. The MTA has recently offered some concessions to weekend warriors. The agency in 2022 appointed a “weekend service czar,” and last year added more trains on the G, J and M lines.
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Service Tips
Ongoing construction at the Queensboro Plaza subway station in Long Island City will temporarily suspend 7 and N train service between Manhattan and Queens on the first weekend in April. Read more.
After months of track maintenance, the MTA says regular service will resume on the F and M lines in Manhattan and Queens starting at 5 a.m. Monday. Read more here.
Friday night through early Monday morning, Bay Ridge-bound R trains will skips Union St, 4 Av-9 St, Prospect Av and 25 St.
Every borough currently has one free bus route. Find yours.
This week in NYC transit history
Stephen Nessen/WNYC
LIRR chief leaves the station
The president of the Long Island Rail Road announced his resignation 24 years ago this week, beginning a revolving door between public and private sector transportation work. On March 28, 2000, Tom Prendergast said he would leave the LIRR to head up the London Infrastructure Consortium, which pitched privatizing maintenance work in the city’s Underground. He’d then return to public service, running the transit system in British Columbia, before a second stint in 2009 as president of NYC Transit. He went on to be as MTA chair from 2013 to early 2017. After that, he returned to the private sector to work for STV and now works at AECOM — two companies that regularly score engineering and construction contracts with the MTA.
