New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, joined a slew of business leaders and transit officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to provide an official update on milestones reached thus far by the city’s congestion pricing programme.
The update follows recent calls from US Transport Secretary, Sean P. Duffy, for the scheme’s immediate termination.
Since the pricing plan’s introduction on 5 January 2025, MTA data has shown that traffic has decreased by up to 11% within the Central Business District (CBD), with a total of three million fewer vehicles having entered the area between January and February when compared to previous statistics from 2024.
Whilst traffic has decreased, its rate of movement has seen increases of up to 30% along bridge and tunnel crossings throughout February when compared to numbers from 2024, resulting in commuters saving up to 21 minutes per trip through the CBD.
Bus services have also reductions in overall journey times, with express service delays beyond 10 minutes dropping to a rate of up to 23%.
When viewed against statistics between January and February 2024, transit ridership since the scheme’s introduction in 2025 have seen a 9% increase in bus ridership and a 6% increase in subway ridership, with ridership on both the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad up 8% & 4%, respectively.
MTA CEO and Chair Janno Lieber, said:Congestion relief is working, cars and buses are moving faster, foot traffic is up and even noise complaints are down. That’s why in poll after poll more and more New Yorkers are saying they want those benefits to stay – and they will.
Elsewhere, the introduction of the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) has seen an increase in Broadway show attendance of up to 19% across both January and February, a 5% increase in restaurant reservations from January to mid-March and an overall increase of 900 million USD in retail profits from establishments within the area.
Governor Hochul said:Since congestion pricing took effect over two months ago, traffic is down and business is up – and that’s the kind of progress we’re going to keep delivering for New Yorkers.
Every day, more New Yorkers are seeing and hearing the benefits for our commutes, quality of life and economy – and we’re not going back.
In February, the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHA) rescinded support for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s New York City congestion pricing plan, removing the MTA’s authority to continue with the congestion plan’s operation.
The move prompted the filing of a lawsuit by Governor Hochul, who stated that the zone would remain in operation until such time as a judge orders a full verdict on the situation.
