Go Green: Congestion Pricing – Let’s Give it a Chance

By Tom Last

I must admit that I am biased when it comes to congestion pricing. I commute to work in midtown Manhattan by express bus in the morning and take the subway and bus for the commute home. My average commute time is one hour and thirty minutes. While traveling on the QM16 in the morning, I always wondered why we could not reduce traffic congestion? How can we have more people take an express bus that seats 50 people and possibly reduce traffic by 50 cars? My sister says she is against congestion pricing and some others I have spoken to feel the same. In my sister’s case, she is retired and rarely drives into the city.  I realized she really did not understand the benefits of congestion pricing and was just listening to the negative chatter, so I wrote this article for her sake along with everyone else’s who might not be clear on the benefits of congestion pricing.

What is congestion pricing and its actual cost? Congestion pricing is a policy where drivers pay a fee to enter certain parts of a city, usually its busiest areas. Most passenger cars will be charged $9 once a day at detection points set up along the borders of the new tolling zone, from 60th Street to the southern tip of Manhattan during peak times. Importantly, there is a low-income discount plan for those who make under $50,000 per year that will cut the toll in half.

What is the history of congestion pricing in other cities? Congestion pricing has been hugely successful in other major cities including London, Milan, Singapore, Stockholm, several Norwegian cities, and many more. Because of congestion pricing in these cities, few people drove into the city centers and congestion fell. Now that our city officials and Governor Hochul finally were brave enough to approve congestion pricing here in NYC, all New Yorkers will reap the benefits of it.  If you do have to drive to the city, you may possibly save a good deal of your valuable time.

What is the cost of traffic congestion? In a recent article (Nazario, Julian, 4 New York, Jan. 13), it was reported that sitting in traffic in NYC cost drivers (per) more than $1,800 in 2024 (Data supplied by INRIX – data company). According to a “Partnership for New York City” report, gridlock costs the New York metro area $13 billion per year. Personally, I look forward to saving a couple of hours a week commuting, as I travel to and from the city three times a week.

The benefits of congestion pricing are immediate and numerous. Firstly, less traffic means faster commute times for everyone. Productivity improves as does the amount of time we spend with our families. With less cars in the city spewing CO2 equals cleaner air to breathe and less health-related problems due to air pollution. Fewer cars on the streets also mean less noise pollution, safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists, being able to convert concrete and asphalt into greener spaces and allows for improved emergency response times, which will save lives.

The secondary goal of congestion pricing is to raise funds for repairing our aged and dilapidated transit systems (e.g., NYC subway uses a signal system from the 1930s) and to create alternative transportation options. It is important to remember that these transit improvements will be made without increasing taxes and that 100% of the congestion revenue is reinvested back into the MTA.  Maybe, if it is successful, we can get more express buses in the Rockaways.

I do understand the security concerns that straphangers may have with using our subway system, especially considering the latest high profile subway crimes. It is important that the revenue generated from congestion pricing is used to increase the police presence in our subways immediately and that somehow, they must legally and humanely remove non-commuters from the subway system.

Finally, we should not see congestion pricing as a new fee on driving. Instead, we should see it as an innovative transformation that will vastly improve transportation by reducing all commuters’ travel time, with improved health benefits, less congestion in the streets of midtown Manhattan and an all-around greener city with a better quality of life all-around.  I believe we should give congestion pricing a chance.  Of course, it may have to be tweaked, like possibly discounts to essential workers, but if we just get on the negative band wagon and do not try it, we will never know.

Go Green Congestion Pricing!