Manhattan Traffic Drops 7.5 Percent After New York’s Congestion Toll Takes Effect

Devices used for congestion tolling hang above traffic on a Manhattan street in New York City on Jan. 6, 2025. Seth Wenig/AP Photo

Traffic in Manhattan decreased by 7.5 percent in the week after New York City’s congestion pricing plan took effect, according to preliminary traffic data released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Jan. 13.

The congestion pricing program, which took effect on Jan. 5, is a policy that charges a standard $9 fare to drivers of most passenger cars entering Manhattan below 60th Street from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.

Preliminary data showed that on average, about 539,000 cars entered Manhattan’s Central Business District daily between Jan. 6 and Jan. 10, a 7.5 percent decrease from an estimated average weekday baseline of 583,000 for January.

“Just look out the window: there is less traffic, quieter streets, and we think everyone has seen it,” Juliette Michaelson, MTA deputy chief of policy and external relations, told reporters on Monday. “Traffic patterns are already changing and they will continue to change.”

MTA stated that travel times on inbound river crossings into Manhattan, including the Holland and Lincoln tunnels that run under the Hudson River from New Jersey, also decreased by 30 to 40 percent on average.

Travel times on the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive and the West Side Highway also improved during the afternoon traffic, falling between 20 percent and 46 percent, according to the data.

Cars traveling on the East-West streets in the CBD also experienced time improvements, especially in the afternoon hours, with trips becoming 4 percent to 36 percent faster. Travel times on some South-North avenues also improved, with trips becoming 21 percent faster, the data showed.

Despite anecdotal reports of more crowded train cars, Michaelson said the agency had not clocked a noticeable increase in subway users, largely because the baseline number of riders—more than 3 million daily—is so high. A handful of bus routes originating in Brooklyn and Staten Island had seen an increase in ridership the previous week.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams emphasized the need to analyze the traffic data to identify any necessary improvements, noting that the newly implemented congestion pricing marked “a major shift” for New Yorkers.

“I just did not want to throw more hysteria into this whole thing. This is a major change,” the mayor said during a press briefing. “I want the data to come forward, I want us to analyze the data, see what we need to tweak. What do we need to do better? Are there changes that we can make? And I just wanted to give it a fair opportunity to do so. It’s the law of the land right now.”

The congestion pricing program was initially set to take effect last year with a $15 charge, but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul later decided to put it on hold. Hochul eventually revived the program with a lower $9 charge.

The governor estimated that the new lower toll would save daily commuters around $1,500 per year when taking into account what they were originally on track to pay, and she promised discounts for commuters at the lower end of the income scale. For example, car owners earning less than $50,000 per year get a 50 percent discount on every toll after their 10th toll in a given month.

President-elect Donald Trump has previously expressed intent to end the program when he takes office, but it’s unclear whether he will follow through. The plan stalled during his first term while undergoing a federal environmental review.

Trump said in November 2024 that congestion pricing “will put New York City at a disadvantage over competing cities and states, and businesses will flee.”

Michael Washburn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.