Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Congestion pricing funds $5 million program for overnight truck deliveries in NYC
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Sep 24, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Sep 24, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The city is dangling one-time cash payments to local businesses that shift their deliveries overnight in an effort to reduce daytime traffic.
The city's Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it will begin distributing $5 million in congestion pricing revenue to incentivize small businesses to change their delivery schedules.
The move is part of a larger goal to shift 62,000 daily truck trips to off-hour delivery — between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. — by 2040. Roughly 90% of goods and deliveries are moved through the city by trucks during the middle of the day, when the streets are most congested, according to the transportation department.
Congestion pricing launched nearly two years ago, charging vehicles $9 tolls to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak business hours. The goal of the tolls was to reduce congestion and traffic in the zone, raise money for transit infrastructure improvements and improve the city's air quality. The new initiative continues the effort to make the streets less clogged with larger delivery trucks during the day.
The transportation department urged participating businesses to spend the money on operations that will allow for overnight deliveries, including truck equipment like noise-reducing devices, security alarms and cameras to leave the trucks unattended at night. Transportation officials suggested businesses use the money to invest in “last-mile” delivery vehicles like cargo bikes.
“Congestion pricing is helping combat gridlock in more ways than one. New Yorkers are receiving more deliveries than ever before, so we will be using tolling revenue to make deliveries cleaner, safer, and more efficient," Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said in a statement. “This incentive program will support local businesses and reduce the number of delivery trucks on our roads during busy daytime hours.”
More than a dozen businesses will receive a total of more than $500,000 through the program, including local soap and candle company Element Brooklyn, Migrant Kitchen and Tea and Milk. The transportation department said it is welcoming applications from other interested businesses.
The MTA also allocated $20 million in funding from congestion pricing to help improve pollution in the South Bronx by replacing old diesel-guzzling refrigeration trucks at the Hunts Point Produce Market with hybrid vehicles.
Tagged
manhattan
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .