RPA Report: Congestion Pricing One Year Later

The Regional Plan Association (RPA), in partnership with Sam Schwartz Transportation, recently provided a statistic snapshot of several of the positive results of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Congestion Tolling Program. Celebrating its one-year anniversary, having officially launched on January 5, 2025, the program has been successful in reducing traffic within the Congestion Reduction Zone (CRZ), which is helping to fuel an increase in subway ridership, while transit crime rates lowered 5.5% year-over-year. The reduction in traffic congestion has also helped increase travel of combined Local, Limited, Select Bus Service (SBS) and Express buses within the CRZ zone by 3% as of November 2025; while bus ridership through December 2025 rose 7% year-over-year. The MTA’s rail lines — Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, have also enjoyed an uptick in ridership, rising year-over-year through December by 9% and 6% respectively. A total of $365 million earmarked for transit capital improvement was raised as of August 2025 and is to increase to $548.3 million through December 2025. Business in the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) within the CRZ zone has grown stronger in part due to higher foot traffic, and storefront vacancy fell from 16.4% to 15.5% as of September; and Broadway’s gross revenues for the season as of December 28 were 10.7% higher than at the same point last season. There have also been several Quality-of-Life improvements including a reduction if traffic noise complaints, and a reduction in people seriously injured in crashes within the CRZ zone. However, legal challenges remain on the federal level, at least a dozen lawsuits filed in 2025, including New Jersey officials, but “supporters remain steadfast buoyed by strong evidence that congestion pricing is simply a good policy.”

Source:    https://rpa.org/news/lab/congestion-pricing-one-year-later