MTA’s Congestion Tolling Program Continues to Deliver Positive Results
On September 9, Gov. Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) provided an update on the positive results of Manhattan’s congestion relief program. The recent announcement comes as the time nears for the Trump Administration and NY Transit officials to begin presenting their arguments as part of an agreement reached in May between the two parties according to reported details of court filings. In February, just one month after the tolling program launched, the White House ordered it to be shut done, but a lawsuit filed by the MTA kept the program in place through the spring, and subsequently it was extended through the fall. At the press conference, Gov. Hochul reportedly stated that the “program has been nothing short of transformational, making streets safer, reducing gridlock across the region, and unlocking generational upgrades to mass transit, benefitting millions.” Over the eight months since congestion tolling began, the number of vehicles entering the zone has lowered by 12%; and on a year-over-year comparison, the volume of vehicles is down 17.6 million. Bridge and tunnel gridlock has also been reduced with travel time on every crossing entering the congestion relief zone lowering by 4% to 36% year-over-year during morning peak travel times. Public transportation across all modes has similarly benefited, ridership from January to August 2025 increasing by a range of 7% to 22% in comparison to the same period last year; and with transit performance also improving, riders are arriving at their destinations more quickly. Revenue generated by the program will fund $15 billion in transit improvements from Poughkeepsie to Montauk, with New Yorkers already seeing massive benefits including new rail cars, dozens of ADA elevators, and signal modernization. The congestion relief program’s ongoing success gained recognition from the Intelligent Transportation Society of New York, awarding the Central Business District Tolling Program with its Intelligent Transport Systems Project of the Year on June 11; and more recently, the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) gave the program its Social Responsibility award.