MTA’s Congestion Tolling Program Delivers Positive Results Beyond Relief Zone Borders

The Regional Plan Association (RPA), an independent tri-state non-profit civic organization, recently released the results of an analysis of the effects of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Congestion Tolling Program, officially called the Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP) since its launch in 2025 on January 5th through April 26th has revealed positive results not limited to Manhattan’s congestion relief zone (CRZ), but on roadways across the surrounding region as well. Traffic reductions that are saving time “seem to be stable — remaining consistent and undiminished over the analysis period.” It has been estimated by RPA that “the time savings associated with CBDTP could provide as much as $1.3 billion in value for commuters, with some of the biggest wins for those using personal vehicles or buses to commute to the CRZ from New Jersey.” At the Lincoln Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel, average trip times for buses decreased 17% and 48% respectively. Through the MTA’s Bridges and Tunnels Waze Partner Portal, RPA analyzed for the periods from January 5 through the end of April in both 2024 and 2025, a comparison of traffic delays due to traffic jams, which cause traffic speeds to dip below the baseline free-flow speed, resulting in a delay. Upon assessment completion it was determined that traffic delays in Manhattan were 25% lower than would be expected without CBDTP; while Manhattan’s post-holiday (after November and December) reductions in traffic delays in the new year and spring are actually 40% lower, they would be only 21% without CBDTP implementation. Outside of Manhattan — the four boroughs and several adjacent areas in New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester that surround Manhattan, the reduction of post-holiday delays are expected to be 9%, but with the CBDTP program they are 17% instead. The RPA’s findings show that in the short time since CBDTP’s implementation, contrary to the belief by some that it was a policy that would benefit Manhattanites at the expense of the region, the MTAs’ congestion tolling program has in actuality “resulted in less traffic overall, even in some places that models predicted it could increase.”

Source:    https://rpa.org/news/lab/congestion-pricing-getting-around-faster-all-around