Commute Times Down, Anger Up in First Full Week of Congestion Pricing Tolls
Commute times into the city were down in the the first full week of congestion pricing but maybe not so much on the streets. Ferocious social media blowback came from some residents inside the zone while uptown residents were reporting more competition for scarce street parking spaces.
| 13 Jan 2025 | 11:19
MTA chairman Janno Leiber unveils a congestion pricing sign at midnight on Sunday, Jan. 5 on the first day of the toll. (
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Congestion pricing tolls went live on Jan. 5. While commute times through bridges and tunnels were down, some reports say that traffic inside the congestion zone below 60th St. was not moving any faster. (
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By all accounts, the first week of congestion pricing did ease traffic at bridges and tunnels leading mid-town Manhattan and on the streets below 60th Street but there does seem to be growing anger and resentment, and more schemes to try to beat the toll.
The tolls, which charge most cars and SUVs with E-Z Pass $9 during peak hours (5 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends) is designed to cut traffic and emissions, decongest the streets and raise up to $600 million for the MTA to use to upgrade its crumbling infrastructure.
By most early accounts, commute times were cut on bridges and tunnels, but its impact on the streets it is supposed to “decongest” is still being debated. “Midtown felt like a federal holiday this morning,” posted one user on the Reddit site MicromobilityNYC on the first work day that the toll was in effect on Jan. 6.
The web site congestion-pricing-tracker.com concluded results were mixed after the first full week the congestion toll was in effect through Jan. 11. “So far, the key takeaways are significant improvements in traffic along bridges and tunnels leading to the congestion zone, increases in traffic along neighboring, but not charged, routes, and no discernible impact on commutes within the congestion zone itself.”
On the other hand, resentment over the tolls adding a new tax to downtown residents and causing uptown residents to experience more traffic from commuters scrambling to find parking spaces outside the zone is growing. One Queens council member, Republican Vickie Paladino was even suggesting that lasers aimed at the tolling cameras could disable them. She wrote on X that “a high-powered green laser pointer like the ones you find on eBay for under $30 can destroy a camera sensor.”
The New York Post reported that Fresh Direct had quietly slipped an add fee onto orders it delivers to residents inside the zone. If that practice becomes more widespread, it is likely to fuel anger of non-car owners in the zone.
On day three of the toll, DOT traffic commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch unveiled yet another crackdown on so-called ghost cars that obscure license plate numbers to avoid detection by the tolls. The fine is $50.
Anger against the toll appears to be growing by car owners inside the zone, at least judging by social media posts. ”This is so upsetting on so many levels,” wrote Margie Katz on the Next Door app. Katz said she lives in the Flatiron district within the zone. “First they caused the congestion by taking away 50 percent of the lanes on major roads. Why do buses need two lanes on Fifth Ave? They closed 14th St. and what did they accomplish?
”They have been slowly taking away space for cars to travel and then say there are too many cars in Manhattan,” Katz said. “This is no longer a friendly city, just one [that[ abuses power and taxes us and taxes and taxes us.”
People on the fringe of the zone are also angry. Lee Honickman who lives in the Lincoln Square area near 58th St. noted on Next Door, “I live in the district. If I leave, I have to pay to come home within 2 block of my home. There has to be a better way to get money for the MTA.”
She continued. “I believe everyone that lives in the zone deserves a discount like they give to the residents who live in the congestion zone in London.”
London residents who live within the zone receive a 90 percent discount. If that was in place in NYC’s, the in-zone residents would be paying 90 cents during the peak hours and 23 cents during the off-peak hours when the toll drops to $2.25.
Fran Sullivan, a Hell’s Kitchen resident on Next Door says that the city has “sold out” residents within the zone but concedes, “all in all, CP is good.”
Janet Liff a Greenwich Village resident, writing on Next Door says she does not own a car and she notes most people in the Village don’t own cars. “Only 15 percent of households (not even people) own cars in the Village,” Liff said. “Cars take up a disproportionate amount of space and create air and noise pollution. The fewer in the this transit rich environment the better,” she writes.
Dona Leeds argues on Next Door that the MTA should go after fare beaters on buses and subways before taxing autos. The MTA has estimated that it loses $700 million a year to fare evaders and that close to half bus riders don’t pay. “The MTA should clean up its own issues.” On city buses, she said, “People getting on in back don’t bother paying. Keep the back doors closed.”
Meanwhile, residents on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side say drivers are choking their streets while trying to find a place to park uptown to beat the downtown toll. “Good luck to everyone, that’s what I say,” Thomas Hurt told the New York Post. “Now [commuters] are right here along with us, trying to figure it out.”
Added Reddit poster identified as geiko989, “I think we need to temper expectations. I don’t think people will make huge changes immediately, but the impacts will happen over time where people feel the impact of paying the toll everyday.”
”It will take a few months to determine whether this will have a meaningful impact,” agreed r/microbilityNYC poster SamzNYC.