After clearing several regulatory and legal hurdles, not to mention a governor-mandated temporary pause, congestion pricing in New York City will begin this weekend.
Beginning Sunday, Jan. 5, most vehicles will be charged a toll when entering the “congestion relief zone” in Manhattan. That zone includes local streets and avenues south of 60th Street.
Truckers driving a multi-unit truck with an E-ZPass will be charged $21.60 during the peak period, which will be 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Rates will decrease by 75% overnight to $5.40. Truck drivers will be charged each time they enter the congestion pricing zone, with no daily cap.
Discounts called “crossing credits” will be available only to truckers with an E-ZPass entering the congestion pricing zone through one of the four tolled entries during peak hours. When coming in via the Lincoln Tunnel or Holland Tunnel, truck drivers will receive a $12 credit. A $6 credit will be applied when entering or exiting the area through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel or Hugh L. Carey Tunnel.
For truck drivers who do not have an E-ZPass, congestion pricing toll rates will increase by 50% to $32.40. Although truckers without an E-ZPass will also pay 75% less overnight, they will not receive any crossing credits.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has the ability to tack on an additional 25% surcharge during Gridlock Alert days. However, Gov. Kathy Hochul has told the MTA that she will not allow the discretionary surcharge, according to WABC-TV.
Those prices are 40% lower than originally proposed. However, they will increase over a six-year period to the toll schedule the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority signed off on. In November, Gov. Hochul temporarily lowered toll rates across the board when announcing the return of congestion pricing, which she paused back in June.
Current toll rates are good through 2027. From 2028 through 2030, that 40% discount will drop to a 20% discount, resulting in a base congestion pricing toll rate of $28.80 for truckers with an E-ZPass, with all discounts increasing proportionally. Starting in 2031, toll rates will reflect prices agreed upon last year, including a base rate of $36 for large trucks.
Congestion toll rates in 2025 for all other vehicles include:
- $14.40 for single-unit trucks and buses
- $9 for passenger vehicles
- $4.50 for motorcycles
- $1.50 per ride for app-based for-hire vehicles (e.g., Uber, Lyft)
- $0.75 per ride for taxis
Except for taxis and ride-sharing vehicles, overnight and tunnel-crossing discounts will apply, and vehicles will be capped at one toll per day, regardless of how many times they exit and reenter the congestion pricing zone.
Additional discounts and exemptions will be available for low-income vehicle owners, individuals with disabilities, emergency vehicles, school buses, commuter vans/buses, specialized government-owned vehicles and a low-income tax credit for residents within the congestion pricing zone. More details about those discounts can be found here.
Pending lawsuits
At least nine federal lawsuits are challenging New York City’s congestion pricing program, most of which failed to secure a preliminary injunction just two weeks before the Sunday, Jan. 5 start date.
On Dec. 23, Judge Lewis Liman of the Southern District of New York federal district court denied the motions for a preliminary injunction filed by plaintiffs in four separate lawsuits. Later that day in the same court, Judge Cathy Seibel denied similar motions in two other cases, effectively ending any hope of stopping congestion pricing before its start date.
The County of Rockland, N.Y., has filed a notice of appeal of Judge Seibel’s order. As of Monday, Dec. 30, no notice of appeal had been filed in cases being heard by Liman.
Although a preliminary injunction is off the table – barring an appellate court reversal – the lawsuits will proceed with the congestion pricing program operating in the background. Lawsuits were filed by a variety of plaintiffs, including the Trucking Association of New York, a teachers union, residents within the congestion zone and the state of New Jersey.
Most of the lawsuits argue that federal approval for congestion pricing was done unlawfully by violating the National Environmental Policy Act. Although Liman dismissed those claims in three lawsuits, other claims of constitutional violations remain intact. The judge in the two cases in a New Jersey federal court has yet to make any significant ruling.
Meanwhile, the Trucking Association of New York’s lawsuit is not asking to completely dismantle congestion pricing. Rather, the association argues that the toll structure is unfair to truckers, who are being charged significantly more despite making up only 4% of traffic in the affected area. LL
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