As a mecca for tourists and businesses alike, New York City (a.k.a. “the city”) has always been expensive. In the post-covid world, it has gotten even worse. Decent (not even good – just clean and relatively near things) hotel rooms easily go for $300 per night. And, of course, restaurants all over have gone up in price, so they did in NYC, too.
Manhattan is, of course, an island. If you’re driving to or from there, you can enter/exit the city via a number of bridges and tunnels. The price for these passages varies, depending on whether you pay by “toll by mail” vs. E-ZPass (cash isn’t allowed, except for the George Washington Bridge), as well as, for some tolls, peak vs. off-peak hours.
Despite the tolls, which have gotten higher and higher throughout the years, traffic in the city is almost always bad, with gridlock galore. But think about it – with all the taxis, ride shares, buses and trucks that have to transport all the people living in NY (currently about 1.6 million residents in a borough that measures 33.59 square miles), plus the services and storefronts they need, PLUS all the people who work and visit there, is there any reason the traffic isn’t so snarled?
For a while, the NYC Powers That Be™ were looking at implementing congestion pricing in the city. Here’s what the plan was when it was approved last March.
Congestion pricing almost happened. But by early June, much to the chagrin of some and the happiness of others, the plan was shelved indefinitely by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
And then…
And then, starting right around Election Day, Gov. Hochul said she was reconsidering congestion pricing after all. Fast forward 2 months and congestion pricing is back. It started yesterday, January 5th.
It’s the first of its kind in the United States.
What does it entail?
The toll applies to the most congested part of Manhattan, which is the area south of Central Park.
The price will vary, depending on what time of day it is, and whether a car has E-ZPass.
During peak traffic hours (5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends), most cars, SUVs, small vans and pickup trucks driving with an E-ZPass will be charged $9, once per day. But during the overnight hours, the tolls will go down to $2.25.
Drivers who don’t have an E-ZPass will receive bills by mail. They’ll also have to pay more: $13.50 for peak hours and $3.30 for non-peak/overnight.
Motorcyclists will pay half the amount that cars pay during peak. Drivers of buses and trucks will pay more, depending on their size.
But I’m just visiting. What if I take a taxi or ride share?
Passengers of taxis and ridesharing vehicles will have a per-trip surcharge added to their fares for rides to, from, within or through the area south of Central Park (the official name of this area is the Congestion Relief Zone). That charge is 75 cents if you’re taking a taxi, green cab or black car. The charge will be $1.50 for passengers of Uber/Lyft/other brands of ridesharing.
Why are they doing this?
NY hopes the extra pricing will be a deterrent so people don’t drive into the City. But if they do, the money is earmarked to go to the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority), which is the entity in charge of the NYC transit system.
MTA leaders expect the new tolls to help generate $15 billion through bond financing. That money is planned to pay for a long list of transit repairs and improvements, including modernizing subway signals and stations and expanding their electric bus fleet.
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