After one month, it appears congestion pricing has changed the way thousands of people travel, according to data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The agency says trips at bridges and tunnels have been 10% to 30% faster, buses are traveling faster, and emergency vehicles are moving more efficiently.
Travel times in some areas, however, seem to have increased.
At the Holland Tunnel, travel time was nearly cut in half, according to the MTA. Most of the north and southbound avenues and most cross-streets are showing faster travel times; most east-west two-way crosstown streets have seen a dip – an average of 25% on Canal Street, for example. The most dramatic amount of time saved seems to have occurred on routes traversing the Midtown Tunnel.
Watching from more than 1,400 cameras at 110 detection points, the MTA says that on an average weekday 490,000 vehicles enter the commercial district, which is down about 9% compared to the same time the past three years.
Slower times have been reported along the FDR southbound, 9th Ave. and 23rd Street, and 42nd Street westbound, as well as some areas of the South Bronx. The MTA said it is closely examining areas that have seen a slowdown in traffic speeds.
Subway ridership is up on weekdays and weekends, although the MTA says the systems have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. The LIRR is steady systemwide, with increases noted at Douglaston, New Hyde Park, Garden City, Woodmere, and Ronkonkoma. Metro-North is up about 11%.
MTA CEO/chair Janno Lieber says it’s “in the ballpark of what we projected.”
Crain’s examined data from a variety of sources to assess initial successes, trouble spots and unknowns of congestion pricing. This is what they found:
- Fewer cars:Tens of thousands of vehicles that would typically travel into Manhattan below 60th Street on a weekday are no longer making the trip.
- Speedier commutes: Travel times on bridge and tunnels are way down, but traffic speeds are barely changed on some major north-south avenues.
- Transit over cars:More people are riding subways, buses and commuter rails than in 2024, but it’s unclear if congestion pricing gets all the credit.
- Cleaner air:Air pollutants are trending down, but weather patterns could be contributing.
Public attitudes have begun to shift, with some drivers who were previously skeptical of the plan noting faster travel times and less money spent on gas on social media. Charles Komanoff, a New York-based transit economist, says that the dust is still settling from the initial shock to the system, and people are choosing if they value time or money more in their new routines.
A Bloomberg analysis of more than 75,000 vehicles outside their 59th Street office showed that after congestion pricing took effect, the share of private vehicles dropped by 6%, yellow taxis increased by 7%, for-hire vehicles fell by 1%, and the volume of commercial vehicles like vans and box trucks was basically unchanged.
Delays of more than three minutes have notably improved at several major intersections along Manhattan’s busiest streets, said Ahmed Darrat, an engineer at real-time traffic analytics company, Inrix. At the intersection of Park Ave. and 57th Street, almost 20% of vehicles during the week of Dec. 9th experienced more than three minutes of delays. In the first week of congestion pricing, that figure dropped to 1%, according to Darrat.
The Crain’s analysis of the air quality index shows that on a daily basis, it improved by about 8% in January 2025, compared to the same days in 2024.
Although most of the data has been promising, ongoing legal challenges and the Trump administration continue to be looming threats to the program.
Sources: PIX11, Crain’s New York Business
