New York to become first US city to have congestion charge

New York is set to become the first city in the US to implement a congestion charge.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced pricing on certain roads would begin on 5 January to “unclog our streets, reduce pollution and deliver better public transit for millions of New Yorkers”.

Hochul abruptly paused the programme in June as it was about to go into effect after pushback from some commuters and businesses. The revived plan will carry lower fees than were originally proposed for vehicles entering designated zones of Manhattan

The congestion charge, however, faces opposition from incoming President Donald Trump.

Congestion pricing will apply to vehicles travelling in Manhattan below 60th Street, the heart of New York’s metropolitan centre.

The programme is intended to generate funding for the beleaguered Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages the city’s subways, buses, and other forms of public transit, while also easing New York’s interminable traffic.

Hochul announced on Thursday that under the revised scheme the daytime toll for cars will be $9 – it was previously planned to be $15.

Small trucks and non-commuter buses will pay $14.40 to enter Manhattan, while larger trucks and tourist buses will pay a $21.60 fee.

Riders Alliance, a public transit advocacy group that has backed congestion pricing, praised Hochul’s revival of the programme.

“We’ll continue to fight together to make sure the plan is implemented and funds the projects riders really need,” they wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Hochul’s plan would implement congestion pricing before one of its highest-profile critics, Trump, is sworn in as US president in January.

“I have great respect for the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, and look forward to working with her to Make New York and America Great Again. But I strongly disagree with the decision on the congestion tax,” Trump told the New York Post, a conservative tabloid, in an interview on Wednesday.

Local Republicans have already asked him to intervene.

Congressman Mike Lawler, who represents a suburban district just north of New York City, asked Trump to commit to “ending this absurd congestion pricing cash grab once and for all”.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Hochul said she planned to move ahead with the plan regardless of who was in power in Washington.

“I’m not driven by the calendar of when people are elected or not elected,” she said.

Critics noted the congestion charge was resurrected a week after the US general election.