NEW YORK — Early figures show ridership on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad has increased since the Metropolitan Transportation Authority began congestion-pricing tolls on Jan. 5.
The news site amNY.com compared Jan. 8-9 — the first two dates offering a weekday-to-weekday comparison of ridership since tolling began — using data from New York state’s open portal. It found that on the LIRR, ridership was 239,444 on Wednesday, Jan. 8 of this year, compared to 208,960 on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. That represents a 14.6% increase. The next day, Jan. 9, saw 229,804 riders, a 7.5% increase compared to 213,699 on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.
On Metro-North, increases were 13.8% on Jan. 8 (209,550 this year vs. 184,150 in 2024) and 5.3% on Jan. 9 (198,894 this year vs. 188,888 in 2024).
The news site had previously compared initial New York subway ridership, finding figures for Jan. 5-7 of this year were up more than 34% from the same period in 2024, although weekend-to-weekday comparisons complicate the data. It did note that the first day of congestion pricing, Jan. 5, saw 318,460 more riders than the first Sunday of 2024, a 21.65 increase.
On NJ Transit, anecdoctal evidence reported by several sites, among them NJ Spotlight News, is that trains into New York were more crowded during the first days of congestion pricing, although the agency said its ridership had not notably increased. Spokesman Jim Smith told NJ Spotlight that NJ Transit will continue to monitor the figures. He also said “it is important to note that prior to congestion pricing, many NJ Transit trains and buses during peak periods were already at or above pre-pandemic levels.”
The much-debated start of congestion pricing, which charges a $9 toll for most vehicles entering lower Manhattan during peak periods, will generate funding for Metropolitan Transportation Authority capital projects. Officials have estimated the program could raise $500 million to $800 million annually.
Does this cause any of the agencies to add cars to any trains? If not the fares paid are almost all net revenue except for any additional costs to sell tickets. Not included are any figures for PATH.
Haven’t read anything on plans made by LIRR, MTA, NJT to add cars in anticipation. Do they have the cars? Did see some news videos of packed trains.
The other interesting statistic not mentioned is the percentage of tolls paid via EZ pass vs billed by a license photo. The former is real money – the latter potential money that costs to collect. And not all may pay.
I did read a report last week that the 2024 loss on just the New York State Thruway from EZ Pass “We will bill you” gotaways was about $100 million. Out of state license plates, mostly.
@ George Pins: Illinois has the same issue (toll runners). The ISTHA has a lawsuit in with the AG of Pennsylvania. PA seems to be the state with the most plates running past the tolls around Chicago.
Illinois attempts to collect have been shunned by the DMV. Also a problem is 95% of the collections report their plate was stolen. But PA DMV won’t release the plate replacement rate without a generous donation by Illinois to cover their costs.
One week of data? Too early to tell. Many factors, including that early 2024 ridership was weak and had nowehere to go but up.
This is a sin tax (like a tax on tobacco) — dependence on a revenue source that the state wants to see decrease. This is what happens when revenue sources are tapped out but costs skyrocket. If this is the only way to fund needed projects like New Haven Line access to Penn Station, then those projects will never happen.
It’s not just New York. Transit providers all over the world are discovering that they can’t fund projects, no matter how worthy or necessary, at today’s prices.
It’s going to take months to see what the real effect is and years to chart any real trend. The commuters affected by this will have to by trial and error determine what is most cost effective: public transportation, private automobile or moving to Florida like everyone else.