With the Congestion Pricing tolls having been in effect for a full year, advocates of the program gathered with Gov. Kathy Hochul in Manhattan to review statistics that they point to as showing the program’s success. Key among the statistics was the one-year count showing 27 million fewer vehicles entered the Midtown Manhattan district south of 60th Street since the tolls went into effect on Jan. 5, 2025. About 250 million vehicles previously had gone into the zone annually. Congestion Pricing tolls collected came to about $550 million.
Overall traffic was down by 11% and speeds crossing the area were up by as much as 51% with an average 23% increase during the morning rush hour, according to statistics released by the state. Pollution was said to be reduced by 22% in the Congestion Pricing zone with accidents down 7% and injuries as a result of traffic accidents down 8%.
“There are a lot of people who really thought that this was going to result in their lives being negatively affected on Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey and others,” Hochul said. “The opposition kind of calmed down, right? Anybody notice that? It’s calmed down because people like getting across the bridges faster. They like coming to the city with more time on their hands. They’re happy not to sit in traffic. So to those individuals who are driving in, their quality of life has improved as well, and I’m really proud of that, and I hope they understand what this program did for them.”
New York state and the MTA so far have been successful in preventing the Trump administration from killing Congestion Pricing through court action. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in February rescinded federal approval of Congestion Pricing and New York filed a lawsuit against the administration and Duffy to keep the program alive. The state won a preliminary injunction that keeps Congestion Pricing in effect pending further court proceedings and enjoins the federal government from taking retaliatory measures such as cutting off federal funding for New York City.
Donald Trump had campaigned on a promise to kill Congestion Pricing if he was elected to a second term as president. Hochul has had several talks with Trump trying to convince him to support the program or at least not work to kill it.
New York City’s new Mayor Zohran Mamdani, one of those who was at the celebratory event said, “Working New Yorkers deserve less congestion, a well-funded transit system, and a safer and quieter place to call home, and I’m proud to see congestion pricing deliver on that promise.”
The Congestion Pricing advocates pointed to economic data showing that sales tax receipts were up 6.3% in New York City in 2025 through November, three times higher than in Westchester and more than six times higher than Nassau County. They pointed out that in 2025 Broadway had its best season in history, with $1.9 billion in ticket sales, up 23%. Restaurant reservations and retail sales also were up, according to industry reports. Office leasing in the city for the third quarter of 2025 was reported to be up 9.2% compared with the third quarter of 2024.
