\n<\/p>\n
Since congestion pricing began one year ago, about 11 percent<\/strong> of the vehicles that once entered Manhattan\u2019s central business district daily have disappeared.<\/p>\n This may not seem like a lot. But it has changed the lives \u2014 and bank accounts, bus rides and travel behavior \u2014 of many.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s less traffic and more parking<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI only drive if I have to move something large or heavy<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I skip lunch<\/strong> at work to make up for the driving tax.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI visit my elderly parents <\/strong>less often.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI complain to myself every time I have to pay the fee and I\u2019m STILL 100% in favor of it.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am returning my leased car<\/strong> six months before the lease expires.\u201d<\/p>\n By Emily Badger, Larry Buchanan, Stefanos Chen, Asmaa Elkeurti and Winnie Hu<\/span> <\/p>\n The authors commute to the Times office inside the congestion zone by foot, bus, bike, subway, ferry, tram, Amtrak and occasionally car.<\/p>\n Jan. 4, 2026 <\/p>\n One year after the start of congestion pricing, traffic jams are less severe, streets are safer, and commute times are improving for travelers from well beyond Manhattan. Though these changes aren\u2019t noticeable to many, and others feel the tolls are a financial burden, the fees have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for public transportation projects. And it has probably contributed to rising transit ridership.<\/p>\n The program, which on Jan. 5, 2025, began charging most drivers $9 during peak travel times to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, has quickly left its mark.<\/p>\n To assess its impact, The New York Times reviewed city and state data, outside research, and the feedback of more than 600 readers with vastly different views of the toll.<\/p>\n Some groused about high travel costs. Others cheered for a higher toll. Many shared snapshots from their lives: quieter streets, easier parking, costlier trips to the doctor.<\/p>\n Many findings from a Times analysis a few months into the experiment have held up. The program so far has met nearly all of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority\u2019s goals, although more evidence is needed on some measures. And one question remains unresolved: whether a federal judge will decisively shield the program from efforts by the Trump administration to end it.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the threats to shut it down,\u201d Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an interview, \u201cthe cameras are still on, and business is still up, and traffic is still down. So it\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the evidence one year in:<\/p>\n About 73,000 fewer vehicles are entering the central business district each day, a number that has added up in the first year to about 27 million fewer entries. The decline, compared with traffic trends before the toll, has been remarkably stable across the year: The central business district includes the congestion tolling zone and adjacent highways excluded from the tolls. Source: M.T.A.<\/span><\/p>\n All other consequences of congestion pricing flow from this one \u2014 that fewer people are choosing to enter the area by private vehicle.<\/p>\n \u201cI never drive<\/strong> into the city anymore. I only take the subway. It\u2019s a relief.\u201d<\/p>\n Philip Zalon \u201cI\u2019m much more aware<\/strong> of driving into Manhattan and avoid it <\/strong>unless I have to haul a lot of stuff like a car load of Girl Scout cookies.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob White By influencing that one decision, the policy can also affect commute times, transit reliability, road safety, street life and more (as we\u2019ll get to below).<\/p>\n One clear sign that behaviors are changing: Every weekday, there is now a spike in vehicles entering the zone right before the toll kicks up to $9 at 5 a.m., and right after it declines to $2.25 at 9 p.m.<\/p>\n Average weekday entries from Jan. 5 through Nov. 30, 2025, by 10-minute intervals. Source: M.T.A.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve decided to get up earlier<\/strong> to get the lower price.\u201d<\/p>\n Eric Nehs \u201cIt is exhausting to plan the trip to cross the line at 9 p.m.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Paul S. Morrill<\/span> Manhattan<\/span><\/p>\n The first consequence of those fewer vehicles is that traffic is now moving faster for the drivers who remain, and for the buses that travel those same roads. And this turns out to be true inside the congestion zone, near the congestion zone, and even much farther away.<\/p>\n Speeds from January through November of each year during peak toll hours. Source: M.T.A., HERE Traffic Analytics.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTaking my kid to [doctor\u2019s] visits in 2024 was a nightmare, every time. \u2026 After congestion pricing, it\u2019s been noticeably less aggravating<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Josh Hadro Many readers, however, told us they didn\u2019t believe they could see the benefits; the changes aren\u2019t always easy to perceive by the naked eye. Readers also frequently said they believed the gains from congestion pricing were more apparent in the first months of the year and had waned since. The city\u2019s speed data generally suggests that these improvements have been sustained, although some of the largest gains were recorded in the spring.<\/p>\n Source: M.T.A., HERE Traffic Analytics.<\/span><\/p>\n But for some travelers, the speed gains have been much larger, particularly those who cross through the bridge and tunnel chokepoints into and out of Manhattan: Speeds are for the inbound direction of travel.<\/span> Source: M.T.A., HERE Traffic Analytics.<\/span> <\/p>\n \u201cTraffic approaching the [Holland] tunnel has saved me 15-30 minutes on the rides back to New York and given me hours of my time back<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Salvatore Franchino \u201cOn a typical 8 a.m. commute, there is so little traffic into the [Lincoln] tunnel that it looks like a weekend<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa Davenport \u201cI haven’t used the Lincoln Tunnel all year, probably will never use it again<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Steven Lerner Improvements have also been more notable for commuters who take longer-distance trips ending in the congestion zone. That\u2019s because those 73,000 vehicles a day that are no longer entering the zone have disappeared from surrounding roads and highways, too.<\/p>\n Commuters from farther out are seeing accumulating benefits from all these sources: faster speeds outside the congestion zone, much faster speeds through the tunnels and bridges, and then the improvements inside Manhattan. And people who travel roads outside the congestion zone without ever entering it get some of these benefits, too.<\/p>\n An analysis by researchers at Stanford, Yale and Google confirmed this through the program\u2019s first six months. Using anonymized data from trips taken with Google Maps, they found that speeds improved after congestion pricing more<\/em> on roads around the region commonly traveled by drivers heading into the central business district. That\u2019s a subtle point, but one many readers observed themselves:<\/p>\n \u201cNoticeably fewer cars driving<\/strong>, even way out in Bensonhurst!\u201d<\/p>\n Charles Haeussler \u201cEven across the river<\/strong> in Bergen County, I feel that we benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n Michelle Carvell \u201cI supercommute weekly from Kingston by bus. Each week, my bus round trip is 30-60 minutes faster<\/strong> than it was before congestion pricing.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob Bellinger Public transit will benefit from congestion pricing as its proceeds are invested in infrastructure upgrades; in the first year, the toll is projected to raise about $550 million after accounting for expenses, $50 million more than the M.T.A. originally predicted. But transit also stands to benefit as bus speeds improve on decongested roads and as more commuters shift to transit.<\/p>\n On bus routes that cross through the congestion zone, speeds increased this year, in notable contrast to the rest of the city. These improvements follow years of declining bus speeds in the central business district coming out of the pandemic.<\/p>\n Local bus routes<\/p>\n Express bus routes<\/p>\n \u201cThe crosstown buses are faster<\/strong> than they used to be, even during peak commuting times.\u201d<\/p>\n Marc Wieman \u201cHave gratefully noticed that they\u2019re more on-time<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Sue Ann Todhunter \u201cIt has significantly improved my bus trips<\/strong> from N.J., cutting about 20 minutes of traffic each way.\u201d<\/p>\n John Ruppert Paid transit ridership is up this year compared with 2024 across the subway, M.T.A. buses, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad as transit has continued its recovery from pandemic declines. About 300,000 more people are riding the subway each day \u2014 far more than the 70,000 cars that have been taken off the road in the congestion zone. So while congestion pricing is probably contributing to rising transit ridership, it\u2019s not the main driver of it.<\/p>\n All of these added transit riders do, however, help explain why congestion pricing has not dampened activity in the busiest parts of the city, as critics feared. People are still coming, just not necessarily by private car.<\/p>\n \u201cI finally taught myself to use the subway<\/strong>. Between the tunnel toll, congestion pricing and parking, I\u2019m saving an enormous amount<\/strong> of money, time and inconvenience.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel Ludwig \u201cIt\u2019s made using the bus for short trips a more appealing<\/strong> option<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n John Buckholz In fact, overall visits to the business district aren\u2019t down \u2014 they were up by about 2.4 percent over the previous year, according to the city\u2019s Economic Development Corporation. And restaurant reservations on the platform OpenTable were up inside the zone as well, by the same amount as the increase citywide.<\/p>\n Tom Harris, the president of the Times Square Alliance, which represents 2,600 businesses, said he had initially received complaints from some businesses. But he was pleasantly surprised that they soon stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled we have not seen negative impacts to local businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seems like it has been absorbed.\u201d<\/p>\n These primary shifts \u2014 fewer cars, less congested roads, more transit riders \u2014 have in turn produced a number of other effects that might more broadly be thought of as changes to qualify of life. Readers described experiencing safer crosswalks, less stressful bike rides and what feels like cleaner air.<\/p>\n In city data, the number of complaints to 311 for vehicle noises like car honking has declined significantly inside the congestion zone, compared with the rest of Manhattan.<\/p>\n From Jan. 5 to Nov. 30 in each year. Source: N.Y.C. 311 data.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it\u2019s almost \u2014 dare I say it? \u2014 quiet<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniel Scott \u201cMidtown is so much quieter now.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Melanie DuPuis \u201cIt turns out that mostly when people say \u2018New York is noisy\u2019 they really mean \u2018cars are noisy<\/strong>.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Grant Louis And the perception that roads have gotten safer is also borne out by crash data. The number of people who were seriously injured in a car crash decreased citywide, but the improvement was more pronounced in the congestion relief zone.<\/p>\n Number of people who were seriously injured in a crash from Jan. 1 through Nov. 30 of each year. Source: Sam Schwartz Transportation Research Program\/Hunter College analysis of N.Y.P.D. crash data.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNobody\u2019s trying to run me over<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Alice Baruch \u201cFewer<\/strong> cars honking, fewer<\/strong> cars running red lights, fewer<\/strong> cars blocking crosswalks.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie Rokosny \u201cThe number of blocked crosswalks have gone down<\/strong> significantly!\u201d<\/p>\n Samir Lavingia Amid these positive changes, however, other readers described distinct declines in their quality of life, often stemming from the cost of the toll. These deeply personal observations have no corresponding measures in public data. But they make clear that some of those 27 million fewer driving trips weren\u2019t simply replaced by transit or forgone as unnecessary \u2014 they\u2019re missed.<\/p>\n \u201cSadly Manhattan is no longer an option<\/strong> for many things we once enjoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n Linda Fisher \u201cCongestion pricing has made my world much smaller<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Justine Cuccia \u201cI\u2019m more careful about choosing events to attend, so I go to fewer of them.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Karen Hoppe \u201cI will not use doctors in Manhattan<\/strong>, limiting my health care choices.\u201d<\/p>\n David Pecoraro One final aim of congestion pricing \u2014 improved air quality \u2014 has the potential to benefit everyone in the region. But the data remains inconclusive so far. A recent study from researchers at Cornell found a 22 percent improvement in one air quality measure over six months. But another analysis, by the Stanford and Yale authors, found little to no effect on air quality using local community sensors and comparing New York with other cities. And the M.T.A.\u2019s own analysis of the program\u2019s first year found no significant change in measured concentrations of vehicle-related air pollutants.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean benefits won\u2019t become clearer with more time and data. But the open questions about air quality underscore that even one year in, even with all the evidence gathered, there are still some effects we don\u2019t fully understand.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an asthmatic, I can also palpably feel improvements in the air quality<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob Hult \u201cIt’s allowed me to believe that perhaps America can change for the better<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Hanna Horvath \u201cAs a car owner myself, I think it\u2019s fair that the cost of driving<\/strong> is now being passed from city residents onto the drivers<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Vincent Lee \u201cI don\u2019t like the cost<\/strong> but I also can\u2019t deny its effectiveness<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Jon Keese Since congestion pricing began one year ago, about 11 percent of the vehicles that once entered Manhattan\u2019s central business district daily have disappeared. This may not seem like a lot. But it has changed the lives \u2014 and bank accounts, bus rides and travel behavior \u2014 of many. \u201cThere\u2019s less traffic and more parking.\u201d \u201cI<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[1442,12211,337,3472,1569],"class_list":{"0":"post-40341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-changed","9":"tag-congestion","10":"tag-life","11":"tag-pricing","12":"tag-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. <\/span>Fewer vehicles<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Average daily entries to the central business district<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Personal vehicle entries into the central business district<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
2.<\/span> Faster traffic<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Change in vehicle speeds, 2024-25<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Average vehicle speeds in the congestion zone<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
3.<\/span> More transit riders<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Change in bus speeds, 2024-2025<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
4.<\/span> Better quality of life<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Change in vehicle noise complaints, 2024-25<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Change in number of people seriously injured in a crash, 2024-25<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n