Gov. Hochul’s Decision to Unpause NYC Congestion Pricing Rekindles Debate

Traffic moves below congestion pricing machines on 59th St. and Lexington Ave. in New York City on Nov. 14, 2024. Kent J. Edwards/Reuters

NEW YORK—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision last week to unpause congestion pricing, and the 12–1 vote by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board on Monday to approve the plan’s implementation in January, albeit with a lower toll, have sparked reactions—both for and against—the policy.

The governor paused the policy in June, acknowledging at a press conference that the $15 toll would be a burden for working families and citing the need to study alternatives.

On Nov. 12, Hochul alluded to a coming shift in her stance, which she made official at a Nov. 14 press conference, announcing the lower $9 toll and the start date of Jan. 5, 2025.

In New York and New Jersey, grassroots organizations that favor green alternatives for cars and buses and upgraded infrastructure and disability access in the mass transit system welcomed the unpausing as a necessary step for the city to qualify for $15 billion worth of bonds.

At the same time, public protests followed the governor’s announcement, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed opposition.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) criticized the plan in a statement, saying that it will result in more pollution and longer commutes while appropriating funds that her constituents should rightly pay to their own state’s transportation authority, not the MTA.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) called for a 60-day comment period on the policy and its likely consequences to take place before its scheduled implementation. Five Republican members of Congress whose constituents live in New York City suburbs have sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, urging him to take action to block a policy they say will unfairly burden their working constituents.

The new version of congestion pricing includes a number of concessions, such as lowering the toll from $15 to $9, with increases set to take place in 2028 and beyond. For commuters earning under $50,000, there is a discount after the 10th commute in a given month. In addition, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends, the toll will drop to $2.25.

In spite of these modifications, opponents of the policy say it is still impracticable and unfair for working people who are already struggling financially, lack alternatives to driving into the city, and will have to endure even longer commutes as the collection of the new toll at entry points into the borough breeds traffic snarls—one of the very things congestion pricing is meant to relieve.

Far-Reaching Upgrades

Hochul did not come to her decision without considerable thought, and it is a victory for those who favor cleaner air, safer streets, and more reliable transportation, Brian Fritsch, associate director of the Permanent Advisory Council to the MTA, told The Epoch Times

Even with the lower fare, funding will soon be in place for new signals to enable trains to move faster and more reliably, Fritsch said. The long-delayed second phase of the Second Avenue subway will become a reality, and Metro-North trains will undergo refurbishment.

Yet another factor is access for persons with disabilities, which is a problem with the transit system as it currently exists, he said.

According to Fritsch, the original congestion pricing plan envisioned 23 new elevators.

“We expect those projects to move forward. We have identified six of them that will be out for contracts pretty much immediately, and the other 17 will be coming down the line pretty soon,” he said.

Fritsch said that without congestion pricing, the mass transit system serving the nation’s largest city would simply not be able to meet the minimum requirements under its existing capital plan.

“I don’t know if it would get as bad as it was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when it was literally falling apart, but I think you would see major delays and reliability problems if congestion pricing wasn’t able to get done,” he said.

Aware of criticism from opponents of congestion pricing of the MTA’s fiscal management decisions and its current estimated $48 billion of debt, Fritsch did not see that as an argument against congestion pricing.

“The leadership of the MTA has done well at getting the debt load into a managed state. As they continue to issue bonds for the capital plan, they really want to keep the debt load that they’re carrying under 15 percent of the annual operating budget,” he said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2024. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times

No Real Change

For Jack Nierenberg, vice president of the transit advocacy organization Passengers United, the change from a $15 toll to a $9 toll is not a material concession and does not alter the reality for the majority of commuters into the city.

“I’m going to make one thing very clear—this $9 toll does not solve any of the problems that the $15 toll posed for the environment, the outer boroughs, and people who have lower incomes or do not have alternatives to driving,” Nierenberg told The Epoch Times.

“Unfortunately, the environmental assessment was not done properly. It did not include proper metrics as to how these people would be accounted for, and it even admitted that these lower-income people who drive [into Manhattan] would be disproportionately affected.”

Nierenberg does not agree with those who, like Fritsch, regard the MTA as fully deserving of congestion pricing revenues.

“Their debt has quadrupled in the last 20 years; it’s nearly $50 billion, so that needs to be addressed as well. And one of the ways the MTA could really improve on that is by holding its contractors accountable,” he said.

In Nierenberg’s view, little has changed on the legal front, regardless of where Hochul may have come down on the issue. He believes that lawsuits in New Jersey and elsewhere against congestion pricing are likely to continue, and it is even possible that the incoming Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress may put brakes on the policy, as some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have urged.

“We have to see what’s going to happen—not only with the executive branch but in Congress. At the same time, this is not necessarily a party-line debate, given that we are seeing several Democratic lawmakers supporting measures to stop this plan,” Nierenberg said.

Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.