Democrat-run New York City will enforce its much-debated plan to charge drivers to enter the center of Manhattan from Sunday, following years of bureaucratic and legal arm wrestling.
The goals of what is known as “congestion pricing” are to reduce gridlock and pollution and raise revenue for public transit. It begins seconds past midnight on Jan. 5th.
Critics, however, see it a cash grab imposed on drivers using roadways they have already payed for through their taxes and rates.
A coalition of community groups participate in a demonstration against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing plan on December 20, 2024 in New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said this week the state will push forward with the plan in defiance of critics.
AP notes the conditions as they are applied:
The toll applies to the most congested part of Manhattan, south of Central Park. It will vary depending on the time and whether a car has E-ZPass, which is an electronic toll collection system used in many states.
During peak traffic hours — that’s 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends — most cars, SUVs, small vans and pickup trucks during with an E-ZPass will be charged $9, once per day. During the overnight hours, the tolls will go down to $2.25.
Drivers without an E-ZPass will receive bills by mail and pay more: $13.50 for peak hours and $3.30 overnight.
It is not just drivers who will pay. Even those using Uber or taxi transport will also be hit.
Passengers in taxis and for-hire vehicles will have a per-trip surcharge added to their fares for rides to, from, within or through what is known as the Congestion Relief Zone. That charge is 75 cents for people taking taxis, green cabs and black cars, and $1.50 for Uber or Lyft passengers, the AP report notes.
A much more expensive toll was set to go into effect earlier this year — with a heftier $15 toll — but Hochul abruptly halted it weeks before the launch, arguing it was too expensive.
A demonstration against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing plan on December 20, 2024 in New York City. Arguments in at least four of the lawsuits against the controversial congestion pricing plan, which would charge drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street, were presented at a hearing in federal court in an effort to end the charge. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
She put forward latest plan with a lower fee in November, shortly after President-elect Donald Trump was elected to another term, with the Republican having vowed to stop it after he returns to office on Jan. 20.
“I have great respect for the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, and look forward to working with her to Make New York and America Great Again. But I strongly disagree with the decision on the congestion tax,” Trump told the New York Post in an interview last November.
Local Republicans have already asked him to intervene.
Congressman Mike Lawler, who represents a suburban district just north of New York City, asked Trump to commit to “ending this absurd congestion pricing cash grab once and for all”.
