New York City's congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the United States, was initially to have charged a toll of $15 during daytime hours for passenger vehicles driving in Manhattan south of 60th Street starting June 30.
A department spokesperson said on Thursday that New York notified the Federal Highway Administration of updated plans to advance the project with a starting toll of $9 for passenger cars. The agency said it is finalizing the steps needed to complete the agreement.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul will announce the plan on Thursday, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a source.
Hochul plans to announce a revised program at 12:00 p.m. ET (1700 GMT) that is expected to launch before Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Hochul had cited high inflation and a desire to not deter commuters or tourists because of the additional charge for her decision to halt implementation.
London implemented a similar charge in 2003.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to vote next week to approve the charge, the source said.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said the decision is a long-awaited win for millions of subway users. "If we don’t get the system in operation before Donald Trump becomes president, we’ll lose $15 billion in critical transit investments," Lander said.
MTA has said congestion pricing would cut traffic by 17%, improve air quality and increase mass transit use by 1% to 2%, generate up to $1.5 billion annually and support $15 billion in debt financing for mass transit improvement.
In 2019, state lawmakers approved the plan to help fund improvements in mass transit using tolls to manage traffic in New York City, the most congested of any U.S. city.
New York says more than 900,000 vehicles enter the Manhattan Central Business District daily, which reduces travel speeds to around 7 miles per hour on average.
https://www.reuters.com/authors/david-shepardson/
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