Cost-Efficient Use of Congestion Pricing Revenue is Crucial

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) long-awaited Congestion Pricing program officially launched in Manhattan on Sunday, January 5, 2025. Although way too soon to “have a full understanding of the program’s impact,” reported findings from the first Tuesday for which data was available indicated that, subway ridership rose by 400,000 travelers, and the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Railroad both experienced an uptick of more than 30,000 passengers respectively. A strategic move by Gov. Hochul brought the announced proposal for improvements on Metro-North’s Hudson Line on the same day that the new $9 tolls took effect. Expected to speed up Hudson Valley commutes into the city by as much as 30 minutes round trip by adding track and train capacity the proposal includes “a second track at the Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx, signal and track enhancements at the Croton-Harmon station in Westchester County and increasing capacity at the Poughkeepsie Yard.” While the revenue anticipated to be generated by the program will provide a significant financial boost to the MTA’s capital budget, it is crucial that it is put to good use. In late December, an audit completed by the New York State Comptroller’s Office revealed that the MTA failed to achieve the cost-saving reforms announced by the agency in 2019 as part of its “Transformation plan.” A consolidation of procurement practices was hoped to reduce the $7 billion the MTA spends “each year on everything from office supplies to train cars to construction contracts. However, according to the Comptroller’s audit, “the actual practice of buying goods and services had not changed as of Sept. 2023, two years after the effective date.”