Photo Credit: Getty Images
New York City has become the first city in the United States to introduce a congestion charge system to reduce jamming and provide much-needed finance for public transport. Under the program, which took effect Jan. 5, 2025, drivers of cars must pay up to $9 to enter the congestion zone south of Central Park; that would include iconic sites such as the Empire State Building, Times Square, and the Wall Street financial district.
The congestion charge was first promoted by New York state Governor Kathy Hochul two years ago, but has been delayed and revised amid complaints from commuters and business groups. The new plan revives a scheme that was paused last June 2024 amid “unintended consequences for New Yorkers”. Most drivers would pay $9 under the new plan during peak hours and $2.25 at off-peak times. Smaller trucks and non-commuter buses will be charged $14.40 during peak periods, while larger trucks and tourist buses will pay $21.60.
The scheme is supposed to clear the chronic congestion in New York and generate billions of pounds for improving the city’s public transport network. It has, however, been hugely contentious – with wide opposition from associations of taxi drivers to high-profile figures such as President-elect Donald Trump. Trump, a New Yorker by birth, has pledged to kill the scheme once he assumes office later this month.
Local Republicans have also piled on, including Congressman Mike Lawler, of suburban Congressional District just north of New York City, who called the congestion charge an “absurd cash grab” and called on Trump to intervene. But a judge recently rejected an eleventh-hour bid by New Jersey state officials to block the scheme on environmental grounds.
New York City has been named the world’s most congested urban area for the second year in a row, according to traffic-data analysis firm INRIX. Vehicles in downtown Manhattan drove at an average speed of 11 mph (17 km/h) during peak morning periods in the first quarter of last year. The congestion charge is expected to alleviate some of these traffic woes while providing much-needed funding for the city’s public transportation system.
The congestion charge in New York City is one of the landmark events in the controlling of urban traffic in the United States. Other US cities are carefully watching it, and, dependent upon its success or failure, it could well be the forerunner of similar schemes across the nation.
