Following in the footsteps of other major international cities, New York City’s congestion pricing officially went into effect about a week ago. Now, if you insist on driving into certain parts of the city instead of using alternative forms of transportation, you have to pay $9. New Jersey is, of course, furious, but how’s this whole thing working out for regular New Yorkers? Pretty darn well, actually, with traffic already lower and buses moving faster according to the New York Times.
Since congestion pricing has gone into effect, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority says tens of thousands fewer cars have entered the busiest parts of the city, with traffic falling by 7.5 percent on the first day it went into effect. On Sunday, traffic was down an estimated 18.5 percent. On average, we’re talking about 43,800 fewer cars per day and 219,000 fewer cars per week. Traffic was heavier later in the week, but based on past driving trends, that was to be expected.
The city didn’t collect data on how many drivers entered the zone before congestion pricing went into effect, so we don’t have exact numbers, but the estimates are encouraging. It’s also possible that colder weather may have reduced the number of people driving into the city that week anyway. Still, the MTA, which is overseeing the program, likes what it’s seen so far.
“There’s so much evidence that people are experiencing a much less traffic-congested environment,” Janno Lieber, the chairman and chief executive of the MTA, told the New York Times. “They’re seeing streets that are moving more efficiently, and they’re hearing less noise, and they’re feeling a less tense environment around tunnels and bridges.”
Congestion pricing was never just about reducing the number of cars in the city, though. Fewer cars would also mean a better quality of life for the millions of people who actually live in New York City, and in that regard, it sounds like congestion pricing has also been a success:
The data seemed to confirm what some New Yorkers have said they have already noticed: fewer traffic jams, less honking and more curbside parking on some blocks in and near the congestion pricing zone.
Traffic moved faster through most major bridges and tunnels connecting Manhattan with the other boroughs and surrounding suburbs, according to the M.T.A. On Thursday, vehicles heading westbound on the Williamsburg Bridge traveled 45 percent more quickly than on Thursdays in January last year.
Some drivers and bus riders have already seen shorter commutes. It usually takes Josh Castro, 28, a construction project manager from Montclair, N.J., an hour and 15 minutes to reach a parking garage on East 63rd Street via the Lincoln Tunnel. Last Monday, he made it in just 40 minutes, he said.
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The M.T.A.’s Express buses, however, saw a significant increase in riders last week. The buses were able to cut down on commute times and sped across bridges and tunnels. Ridership was up by 6 percent compared with January 2024, from 67,000 riders to 71,000.
The SIM24 bus, which connects Staten Island to Manhattan, saved seven minutes while traveling through the Lincoln Tunnel compared with last year. Over its entire route, the bus had a travel time reduction of nearly four minutes.
Buses that cross the East or Hudson Rivers into Manhattan had similar gains, especially during the morning rush hours. The B39, which often gets stuck in traffic on the Williamsburg Bridge as vehicles line up to reach Manhattan, had trip speeds that were nearly four minutes shorter compared with last year, a travel time reduction of 28 percent.
Transit officials said that it is unlikely that overall ridership data of subways and buses will immediately reflect any significant changes related to congestion pricing, because the number of people who typically drive into the zone is dwarfed by those who use mass transit.
Of the 1.5 million people who work in the tolling zone, about 85 percent take mass transit, according to the M.T.A. Only 11 percent drive — about 143,000 drivers before congestion pricing was implemented.
Will it take time to see what kind of impact congestion pricing actually has on traffic? Of course. And will there be traffic around certain intersections? Absolutely. Has congestion pricing completely fixed New York overnight? Of course not. They’re going to have to learn about these new inventions called dumpsters before you can say NYC is truly fixed, but the early results are incredibly encouraging. As Michael Ostrovsky, a professor at Stanford University who studies congestion pricing, told the New York Times, “The results are showing that the congestion pricing can be very effective.”
