New York City Introduces Congestion Pricing, First Major U.S. Metropolis to Do So

New York City is set to become the first major metropolis in the United States to implement congestion pricing, a toll on vehicles entering a designated area south of Central Park during daytime hours. The new policy has been approved and will take effect from Sunday, June 30th.
The zone covers an area below Central Park’s northern boundary at 60th Street in Manhattan. Most passenger cars traveling through the congested district between Monday to Friday mornings until late evening will be charged a $15 toll during these hours. The fees for other vehicles, such as motorcycles and sightseeing buses with trailers, vary based on size and time of day; prices range from $1.75 to $36 respectively.
Visitors without E-ZPass devices will be charged more than those who have them installed in their cars since these gadgets collect toll information remotely. License plate readers are expected to identify other drivers, so they can receive bills by mail later on. Taxis and app-based rides such as Uber or Lyft will charge passengers $1.25 and $2.50 per ride respectively when passing through the zone at any time of day.
Drivers from outside New York City already pay around $15 in bridge and tunnel tolls, which they must add to their congestion fees if entering Manhattan during peak hours. Daily parking costs within this area are also high, ranging between $25-$50 a day on average.
Some vehicles will be exempt from the new fee; these include emergency services’ cars, specialized city-owned vehicles and buses with regular public routes or school contracts. Vehicles carrying disabled people as well as low-income commuters are also excluded from paying congestion fees. Low-earning drivers may qualify for discounts and tax credits under the scheme.
School buses will not have to pay a toll when traveling through Manhattan’s congested zone, according to FOX 5 NY’s Chris Welch report; publicly accessible bus services that run on regular schedules such as city-operated or charter companies like Megabus and Hampton Jitney are also exempt from the new policy.