New York City has finally implemented its highly-debated and long-awaited congestion pricing strategy in Manhattan, and other cities in the US are watching closely.
New York City began a new era for drivers in Manhattan on January 5th after implementing congestion pricing. Congestion pricing is meant to gain revenue in cities that are dependent on public transportation while also easing heavy traffic from cars, which also helps reduce air pollution.
While the new policy has already shown a dramatic reduction in traffic in Manhattan, legal challenges and President-elect Donald Trump’s opposition to the pricing could make it just a quick blip in the city. However, many other cities in the US are looking at the results of the pricing in Manhattan to see if they should implement it in their own cities.
In fact, Trump wrote on social media that he would “terminate congestion pricing in [his] first week back in office.”
Michael Gerrard, a professor at Columbia Law School, told CNN that NYC was smart to implement the pricing policy before the presidential inauguration on January 20th.
“In terms of what Trump can do, had congestion pricing not started before the inauguration, the Federal Highway Administration probably could have withdrawn its approval and prevented it from starting up. But now that it’s started up, it’d be very tough for them to reverse themselves.”
“[In terms of] congestion pricing lawsuits have been before four federal judges and two state judges. Only one of them has found any problems, and that was the need for a little more explanation on a couple of technical points,” Gerrard said.
“The MTA will shortly be providing that explanation. If any judges thought there was a lot of merit to the challenges, they could have shut it down before it started,” he said.
Columbia economist William Vickery actually first brought up the concept of congestion pricing in the 1950s, and in 2007 the former Mayor of NYC Michael Bloomberg made a formal proposal that was denied.
The benefits that have been discussed surrounding congestion pricing involve a reduction in traffic and pollution while also aiding revenue for city projects.
Kate Slevin, an executive vice president at the Regional Plan Association, an urban policy group, told CNN that she thinks NYC residents and the general public will see the benefits of the pricing policy through less traffic on the roads, and greater investments made into public transit systems.
“We desperately need greater investment in public transit. We have a terrible traffic congestion problem that is just getting worse every year, and everyone deserves cleaner air in our region, so this is a strong step towards addressing all those challenges.”
While NYC’s congestion pricing is the first of its kind in the US, the policy has been implemented around the world for decades now. For example, Singapore has had it since the 1970s, and London has since 2003. Stockholm has also had congestion pricing since 2007.
A researcher at the Urban Institute, Yonah Freemark, said he believes public reception to the pricing will improve the same way it has around the world.
“London and Stockholm both indicate that public support for congestion pricing increases dramatically in the months after implementation as people become aware of the benefits,” he said.
For Manhattan specifically, passenger vehicles pay a fee once a day to enter Manhattan below 60th street: $9 during peak hours and $2.25 during off-peak hours; Peak hours are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Single-unit trucks pay $14.40 during peak hours and $3.60 during off-peak hours.
The MTA also will be offering a 50% discount during peak hours for drivers with an annual household income below $50,000.
Officials in other major US cities are watching NYC closely to see if implementing congestion pricing might be something to place in their cities. Discussions have been had in cities like Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington DC.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
