Busting the Myths of New York’s Congestion Pricing Program

Despite these and other benefits, opponents of congestion pricing have continued to paint a distorted picture of the impacts of this innovative program in New York.

Here are four of the most frequently repeated myths about congestion pricing followed by short, fact-based responses:

Myth #1: Congestion pricing is regressive and will hurt the poor and working class.

Fact: Congestion pricing will be broadly beneficial to persons at all income levels and will be particularly helpful to low-income commuters.

Simply stated, congestion pricing will help the vast majority of travelers to Manhattan’s Central Business District because the overwhelming majority of commuters get into the area via public transportation.  About 85% of all daily commuters venture into the Manhattan CBD via subway, bus, and commuter rail. And these transit travelers will benefit from billions of dollars in otherwise unavailable public transit capital investments that will make their daily subway, bus, and commuter rail trips safer, faster, and more reliable. 

Indeed, the city’s oldest and most respected anti-poverty organization, the Community Service Society, has embraced congestion pricing precisely because of its overwhelming benefit to low-income New Yorkers.  The Society analyzed commuter patterns into the CBD based on travel mode and income level.  Its review found that only 2% of the city’s working poor would end up paying the congestion fee.  

According to the Community Service Society study, “257,000 working poor New Yorkers would benefit from a congestion pricing plan that funds transit upgrades, compared to just 5,000 [working poor] New Yorkers who would regularly pay a congestion fee.”  The Society concludes: “In other words, working residents in poverty will benefit by a margin of more than 50 to 1 from congestion pricing.”

Additionally, the MTA has adjusted its pricing structure to accommodate this small percentage of low-income New Yorkers who must commute into the CBD via automobile.   Under the final program rules, all motor vehicle owners with incomes under $50,000 a year can apply for a 50% discount on the congestion pricing fee, applicable for every peak hour drive after the first ten trips of every calendar month.

Myth #2: Congestion pricing is bad for business.

Fact: Congestion pricing will help New York City businesses by reducing commuting time for business travelers and for goods shipments and deliveries, and by improving transit services, which is how most people travel to and from the Central Business District. 

To figure out whether congestion pricing will help or hurt New York businesses, just look at the business groups spearheading support for this measure: The Partnership for New York City, The Real Estate Board of New York, The Citizens Budget Commission, the New York Building Congress, and the Association of a Better New York.

One reason for their enthusiasm is that New York’s notorious traffic congestion imposes enormous costs on businesses and consumers.  According to a recent analysis by former NYC Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz, the average speeds of midtown travel have slowed to 4.8 miles per hour. And the city’s leading business organization, The Partnership for New York City, has concluded that the cost of delay in commuting time and work-related travel is $9.2 billion a year.

Congestion pricing is part of the solution.  In Sinapore, London, and Stockholm, where congestion pricing programs has been in place for years, traffic bottlenecks have smoothed and vehicle speeds have increased. According to one Federal Highway Administration report, traffic speeds in the congestion zones of these three cities jumped by 10% to as much as 30% following the start-up of congestion pricing. And even a 10% decrease in Manhattan CBD traffic could by itself result in significant times savings for business deliveries, as well as for workers and shoppers who must drive in the congestion zone.

As the chair of the business-friendly Association for a Better New York recently stated in referring to the need for the congestion pricing start-up: “Let’s get this done as if the City’s future depends upon it.  Because it does.” 

Myth #3: Congestion pricing doesn’t help those who must drive in the congestion zone.

Fact: Congestion pricing will benefit drivers directly by cutting traffic congestion and saving them from hours stuck in traffic.  And it will aid them indirectly by generating funds to help rebuild the region’s transit system — keeping millions of daily commuters on subways, buses and commuter railroads and out of private motor vehicles that would otherwise be competing for limited highway and street space.  

Those who drive in the Manhattan Central Business District don’t need to be reminded of the frustration of it all – vehicles often creeping along in stop-and-go-traffic, delays and unpredictability, wasted time.  According to the MTA, New York’s traffic congestion ranked as the worst among U.S. cities in 2020-2021. And post-COVID driving and congestion have spiked in New York City by an additional 10-15 percent.

As noted above, congestion pricing should reduce these burdens, as has been the case in London, Stockholm and Singapore.  And as the New York program rolls out, government officials have committed to address issues that arise and adjust the program to ensure that it achieves its congestion-busting goals.  

Finally, congestion pricing will help drivers of ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles to navigate narrow city streets and avenues so that they can arrive more swiftly at their destinations and render assistance to those who live in, work or visit the heart of Manhattan.