New York City’s congestion pricing tolling program turned six months old on Saturday, with Governor Kathy Hochul boasting about its success. According to data from her office, traffic in the city has decreased by 11% since the program began, with 67,000 fewer vehicles entering the Congestion Relief Zone daily.
Compared to last year, over 10 million fewer vehicles have entered the zone. Traffic delays within the zone are down 25%, and across the metropolitan region by 9%. The governor also cited a 14% decrease in crashes and a 15% drop in traffic injuries within the zone.
Improvements in air quality and noise pollution have been observed, with vehicle-related noise complaints decreasing by 45% since the program started. Pedestrian fatalities on city streets are at historic lows, matching levels last seen in 2018.
Critics argue that congestion pricing is an unfair tax, but Governor Hochul’s office counters that pedestrian activity within the zone has increased by 8.4%, while outside the zone only saw a 2.7% rise.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reports that transit ridership has increased from January to May this year compared to the same period in 2024. Subway, bus, and Long Island Rail Road ridership have seen record-high increases, with subway on-time performance reaching its best ever at 85.2%.
Source: https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/traffic_and_transit/2025/07/05/six-months-into-congestion-pricing–more-cars-are-off-the-road–report-says