New York (CNN) — New York City’s long-awaited, long-debated congestion pricing began on January 5, marking a new era for driving into Manhattan.
Congestion pricing could generate revenue many cities are desperate for, while simultaneously easing traffic and improving air quality. But legal challenges and President-elect Donald Trump’s opposition could determine whether it’s a blip or a new U.S. trend.
The incoming president, who is originally from New York and whose Trump Tower resides within the Manhattan congestion zone, has been an outspoken critic, calling it a “disaster for NYC.”
“I will TERMINATE Congestion Pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in Office!!!” Trump wrote in a May social media post.
Michael Gerrard, a professor at Columbia Law School, told CNN that implementing congestion pricing before the January 20 presidential inauguration was key in protecting its viability.
“In terms of what Trump can do, had congestion pricing not started before the inauguration, the Federal Highway Administration probably could have withdrawn its approval and prevented it from starting up,” Gerrard said. “But now that it’s started up, it’d be very tough for them to reverse themselves.”
Gerrard, who was a member of the coalition of legal experts who sued New York Governor Kathy Hochul to reverse her decision in June to indefinitely halt congestion pricing, said he doesn’t expect other outstanding lawsuits against the MTA will have much success.
“Congestion pricing lawsuits have been before four federal judges and two state judges. Only one of them has found any problems, and that was the need for a little more explanation on a couple of technical points,” Gerrard said. “The MTA will shortly be providing that explanation.”
“If any judges thought there was a lot of merit to the challenges, they could have shut it down before it started,” he added.
Dueling visions for the Big Apple
Columbia economist William Vickrey floated the concept of congestion pricing as early as the 1950s. In 2007, then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a form of congestion pricing that was eventually killed.
Proponents say it will reduce traffic and pollution while providing revenue for city projects. Meanwhile, critics say it is an unnecessary burden on drivers and will steer business away from the city.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, New York Rep. Mike Lawler and New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer have all been outspoken critics of congestion pricing, and over half of New York City voters disprove of the congestion pricing plan, according to a December poll.
Kate Slevin, an executive vice president at the Regional Plan Association, an urban policy group, told CNN that she thinks people will see benefits with time like less traffic on the roads and investments in public transit.
“We desperately need greater investment in public transit. We have a terrible traffic congestion problem that is just getting worse every year, and everyone deserves cleaner air in our region, so this is a strong step towards addressing all those challenges,” Slevin said.
New York City’s congestion pricing is the first of its kind in the United States. Yet congestion pricing has been implemented in cities across the globe for decades, including in Singapore since the 1970s, London since 2003 and Stockholm since 2007.
Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Urban Institute, said he expects public opinion in New York to improve over time.
“London and Stockholm both indicate that public support for congestion pricing increases dramatically in the months after implementation as people become aware of the benefits,” he said.
Passenger vehicles now pay once per day to enter Manhattan below 60th street; the charge is $9 during peak hours and $2.25 during off-peak hours. The MTA offers a 50% discount during peak hours for drivers with annual household incomes below $50,000.
Single-unit trucks will be charged $14.40 during peak hours and $3.60 during off-peak hours for each trip into Manhattan below 60th Street. Peak hours are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
Surviving public opinion and the Trump administration
Trump could have a hard time if he tries to reverse congestion pricing in his role as president as it has already largely been settled by the courts, according to Columbia Law School’s Gerrard.
At this point, Gerrard said he thinks only Congress could really stop congestion pricing.
Congress, which has a slim Republican majority, could get technically involved by threatening to withhold federal funds to the MTA.
“It’s not inconceivable, but it would be extraordinary,” Gerrard said.
There are other outstanding lawsuits, too. The United Federation of Teachers and the Trucking Association of New York previously filed lawsuits against the MTA, citing congestion pricing’s potential negative effects on low-income commuters who drive into the Manhattan congestion pricing zone.
Only about 2% of residents in poverty in New York City’s outer boroughs would be affected by the congestion toll when driving to work, according to a 2022 study by the Community Service Center, a nonprofit. Meanwhile, about 61% of outer borough residents in poverty take public transportation into work.
Roderick Hills Jr., a professor at the New York University School of Law, told CNN that lawsuits are unlikely to reverse the congestion pricing program now that it has begun.
On January 3, a judge denied New Jersey’s last-ditch effort to halt the plan.
“That, to me, is a pretty clear indication that the courts are not going to involve themselves to try to stop a program that has been litigated endlessly,” Hills said.
An inspiration for other cities?
Officials in other cities are watching what happens in New York.
Along with New York, Chicago tops the list of the most traffic-congested cities in the U.S., according to INRIX, a transportation analytics company.
Freemark said he has been aware of discussions about congestion pricing in cities like Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, DC, but “those discussions have not been particularly advanced.”
Manny Gonzales, a spokesperson the for the Chicago Transit Authority, said in a statement that the CTA has been “closely watching how New York would implement congestion pricing.”
“While CTA has not advocated for a congestion pricing solution like New York’s, it is the type of revenue stream that can generate significant amounts of funding that can directly improve public transportation systems in our region,” Gonzales said.
“Eyes are on New York,” RPA’s Slevin said, as different cities gauge the public and legal response to congestion pricing in the coming months.
Charles Komanoff, a transport economist and environmental activist, has been advocating for congestion pricing in New York City since the 1970s.
He was among the crowd at East 60th Street on January 5 at 12:00 a.m. celebrating the start of the program after decades of debate.
“Congestion pricing is going to begin to reset the relationship of New Yorkers to automobiles in a way that is going to be very exciting and enhancing and even liberating for the vast majority of people in the city of New York,” Komanoff said.
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