NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board has approved the revised congestion tolling plan announced last week by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
In a meeting on Monday, Nov. 18, the board approved a plan that will launch the toll plan for lower Manhattan with a basic peak-hours toll of $9, while raising it to $15 — the fee under the original plan — by 2031. All tolls at launch will be 60% of the original fees; they will rise to 80% (or $12 for most vehicles) in 2028.
Tolling — which will fund MTA capital projects — will begin on Monday, Jan. 5.
Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction and Development, said in a press release that with the board action, the agency “will immediately reactivate major contracts for critical projects including work for the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2, accessibility projects, and state of good repair work.” Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo said the implementation of congestion pricing “advances the final 23 ADA stations in the 2020-2024 Capital Plan and is a major win in our efforts to keep delivering accessibility projects at an unprecedented pace.”
The website Gothamist reports the tolling program now must await approval from the Federal Highway Administration, which has a say because of federal funding for New York street projects. The FTA has to reevaluate the new tolls and an agreement with the MTA and city and state transportation departments, MTA CEO Janno Lieber said at a press conference. The MTA is hoping that FHA approval comes before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he would kill congestion pricing in his first week in office [see “New York governor introduces …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 14, 2024]. But Lieber said it would be difficult to kill the program if it is up and running because it would have been approved through an established federal program, and that it should withstand legal challenges.
“I am confident that if and when we receive approval from the federal government, albeit the Biden administration-era federal government, it will stand the test in the courts,” Lievber said. “Taking away an approval for a program that the feds have been operating and invite New York and other states and localities to enroll in is not something that can just be pulled away.”
More on the tolling plan, including detailed information on toll rates, is available here.
