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Numbers are in and NYC congestion pricing is a big 'success,’ Hochul says
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jul 5, 2025
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Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jul 5, 2025
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Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA on Saturday touted congestion pricing as a “huge success,” saying 67,000 fewer vehicles are entering Lower Manhattan each day, while mass transit ridership is up across the board.
The program is also on track to reap the forecasted $500 million in revenue in 2025, allowing the MTA to move forward with $15 billion in improvements to subways, buses, and the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad systems, officials said.
The program, launched Jan. 5, charges motorists in passenger vehicles who enter the Congestion Relief Zone below 60th street a $9 toll during peak periods.
“Six months in, it’s clear: congestion pricing has been a huge success, making life in New York better,” Hochul said in a statement.
The dip in vehicle volume – 10 million all told – has led to substantial drops in traffic delays, the governor’s office said. At the Holland Tunnel, rush hour delays are down 65%. And drivers coming into the city are getting back 7 minutes for every hour spent commuting, according to the governor’s data.
Traffic accidents are down as well. Last week, the city’s transportation department published data showing 87 people were killed by motorists during the first six months of 2025 – down significantly from the 128 deaths reported over the same period last year.
At the same time, public transportation ridership is up. Subway riders are up 7%; bus ridership is up 12%; LIRR ridership is up 8%; Metro-North ridership is up 6%, and Access-A-Ride ridership is up, 21%.
“We’ve also fended off five months of unlawful attempts from the federal government to unwind this successful program and will keep fighting - and winning - in the courts. The cameras are staying on,” Hochul said.
The MTA sued the Trump administration in February after President Donald Trump and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy moved to revoke federal approval for congestion pricing.
In May, a federal judge in Manhattan granted the transit authority a preliminary injunction temporarily barring the Trump administration from shutting down congestion pricing.
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Kathy Hochul
MTA
new york city
transportation
Mike Hayes
Mike Hayes covers equity and access to opportunity in New Jersey. He joined WNYC and Gothamist in 2023. Before that, he worked as a freelance journalist writing about policing and criminal justice. He has written for ProPublica, CNN, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News and The Appeal. He is also the author of the book, “The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform.” In 2019, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
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