A difficult birth
The plan was met with plenty of opposition despite the promise of generating around $15 billion a year in revenue, and a 2021 implementation date slipped to 2024. But at the last minute, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, deferring to the wishes of commuters from out of state rather than the ones that elected her, paused the congestion charge three weeks before it was meant to go into effect on June 30 that year.
Following public outcry at the loss of MTA revenue and the promise of worse air quality and more road deaths, advocates and legislators fought back, and following a series of lawsuits, NYC’s congestion charge went into effect on January 5, 2025, with a peak time toll of $9 and an off-peak price starting at $2.25.
And it’s working. “Travel times through the city’s most congested corridors are down for millions of commuting New Yorkers, while pedestrian traffic is up and data shows air is cleaner and streets are safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike,” said David Kelly, senior director at the Environmental Defense Fund. “Funding from the program is already working to improve public transportation, allowing the MTA to purchase 265 new clean, cost-efficient electric buses and start new projects to speed up trains and buses throughout the region.”
Two weeks later saw the inauguration of Donald Trump as the country’s 47th president. While campaigning, Trump had promised to undo the congestion charge, and he has now done it.
“When was the last time Donald Trump took the subway or the bus in New York? If he spent just one day living like the majority of New Yorkers, he’d realize the terrible congestion that contributes to polluted air and too many vehicles on the road wasting people’s time stuck in traffic,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous. “The Sierra Club fought Governor Hochul’s unnecessary delay of congestion pricing last year, and we’ll fight this unlawful attack as well.”
