The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has released its latest report concerning funds generated by the implementation of its controversial Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) in New York City’s Central Business District (CBD).
The report states that thus far, the system, which was first made operational on Sunday January 5 2025, has generated a total of 48.66 million USD in revenue, with a net of 37.5 million USD.
With the numbers generated so far, the MTA has stated it is on track to meet its initial generation target of 500 million USD as a result of the scheme’s implementation, and will continue to publish monthly reports on the revenue.
MTA Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Willens, said:With an initial performance in line with projections, we can confidently move forward with projects that rely on funds from the Congestion Relief Zone,” said MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens. “We look forward to seeing similar results in the coming months.
We are on track for the projected $500 million in net revenue, especially as we get into warmer months when traffic will increase which provides confidence in the forecast,” said MTA Co-Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel. “All indicators show the program is reducing traffic but also projecting the revenue to be on target for what we had in 4,000 pages of studies and what we were looking at in the fall.
Of the 48.66 million USD generated, 22% has come from taxis and for hire vehicles (10.6 million USD), 68% from passenger vehicles, 9% from trucks and 1% from buses and motorcycles, with 85% of non-taxi and for-hire vehicle revenue generated from passenger vehicles, and 15% from trucks, buses and motorcycles.
A total of 95% of the generated revenue was collected during peak tolling hours, and with expenses from the tolling plan totalling 11.1 million USD (including mitigation efforts, infrastructure and customer service), the scheme has generated a net surplus of 37.5 million.
The MTA has stated that funds from the CRZ project will be directly contributed toward projects detailed in the 2020-2024 Capital Program, which includes plans to make several stations more accessible, the installation of modern signalling on the Fulton St line in Brooklyn and Liberty Avenue in Queens, the acquisition of new rolling stock & zero-emission buses and the extension of the Second Ave Subway into East Harlem.
News of the generated revenue comes hot on the heels of an order from the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) to cease operation of the system entirely, prompting the filing of an immediate lawsuit by the MTA and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Elsewhere, the implementation of the CRZ has seen an overall reduction in journey times across the board, as well as a reduction in accidents throughout the CBD.
