NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A congestion pricing plan was approved by the MTA board on Wednesday, bringing the controversial tolling a step closer to reality.
The board’s vote in favor of the plan will kick off a four-month public comment period, with implementation expected in the spring of 2024.
Under the plan, passenger car drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street during daytime hours would be charged $15 electronically. However, drivers without E-ZPass would pay $22.50.
The fee for small trucks would be $24, while large trucks would be charged $36.
The MTA can also charge an extra 25% on Gridlock Alert Days, when traffic is especially bad in Midtown.
Last week’s proposal from the Traffic Mobility Review Board, a New York state body charged with advising the MTA on the tolls, includes discounts for travel between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. and for frequent low-income drivers. Government vehicles such as municipal garbage trucks would be exempt.
Taxi drivers would pass a $1.25 surcharge onto their passengers for entering the congestion zone, while app-based ride-hail passengers would see a $2.50 surcharge. Opponents that include cabbies have pushed for a full exemption.
Revenue from the tolls, projected to be roughly $1 billion annually, would be used to finance borrowing to upgrade the city’s mass transit systems. Officials have also said it would improve air quality and reduce traffic.
“It’s a big day," Janno Lieber, CEO and chairman of the MTA, said during a press conference on Wednesday. "We’ve been talking about congestion pricing for 50 years. We’re getting very close to the end of the journey or the beginning of a new journey and it is exciting.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul praised the approval in a statement, saying she’d worked to bring the toll rate down from the initial high of $23.
“Congestion pricing means cleaner air, better transit and less gridlock on New York City's streets and today's vote by the MTA Board is a critical step forward,” the governor said. “The proposal approved today heeds my call to lower the toll rate by nearly 35 percent from the maximum rate originally considered. This initiative will make New York City a global leader in transportation policy, and I'm grateful for the work of the Traffic Mobility Review Board to bring us to this milestone.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.