For decades, New York lawmakers, transit officials and environmental activists have been pushing to implement a plan to toll drivers who enter Manhattan’s core business district — a concept known as congestion pricing.
They will have to keep waiting.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday that she was indefinitely shelving the long-awaited tolling scheme, citing concerns that the policy might hinder the city’s post-pandemic recovery. The program, delayed by many challenges over the years, was halted just weeks from its planned start date of June 30.
The tolling program intended to rein in traffic and pollution while improving travel speeds in some of the world’s most traffic-clogged streets. The money raised from drivers would have generated $1 billion annually for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pay for critical upgrades to New York City’s transit network, which is the largest and busiest in North America.
Under the congestion pricing plan, which would have been the first of its kind in the United States, most motorists would have paid $15 to drive to some of the city’s most famous destinations and neighborhoods, including the theater district, Times Square, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and SoHo.
The tolling zone would have run from 60th Street to the Battery, but would have omitted the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the West Side Highway along the borough’s edges. Drivers of cars, buses, motorcycles and trucks would have paid a rate that would have varied based on vehicle size and time of day.
Here are answers to some of the most common questions about the program:
When would the tolling have begun?
The tolling had been scheduled to start June 30.
Before the reversal by Ms. Hochul, a growing number of opponents — including Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, influential unions and some elected New York officials — had been recently expanding their effort to stop the program from going into effect.
Altogether, eight lawsuits have been filed against congestion pricing. They are all pending.
What would the tolls have cost?
Drivers of cars entering the tolling zone, known as the Central Business District, would have been charged $15 during peak hours, and would have had to pay only once a day. Those riding motorcycles would have paid $7.50 because they are smaller and contribute less to congestion.
Drivers of commercial trucks would have been charged either $24 or $36 during peak hours, depending on the size of the trucks. The same rates applied to certain buses. Drivers of those vehicles would be tolled for every trip they made into the zone, with no daily caps.
These rates would have been in effect during most of the day, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
Passengers in taxis and ride-share vehicles would have paid an extra $1.25 for taxi trips and $2.50 for ride-share trips that were made to, from or within the tolling zone.
Would the tolls have varied by time of day?
Yes. Off-peak fares would have been 75 percent cheaper than peak fares, because officials were trying to encourage travel during times when traffic is lighter.
Off-peak hours would have been from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends.
During those times, the toll for drivers of passenger vehicles would have been $3.75, and the toll for motorcycle riders would have been $1.75.
Who would have received exemptions, credits and discounts?
Only a few categories of drivers would have gotten exemptions, in an attempt to evenly distribute the burden of the tolls.
Drivers of certain vehicles carrying people with disabilities and authorized emergency vehicles would not have been charged.
People whose primary residence was inside the tolling district and whose income was below $60,000 would have been eligible for a state tax credit equal to the amount of their tolls.
Low-income drivers would have been able to register for a 50 percent discount on all trips into the tolling zone after the first 10 trips in a month.
A driver who enters Manhattan via certain routes that already require tolls, such as the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, would have received a credit against the daily congestion charge.
What were the plans to collect the tolls?
The tolls would have been primarily collected through the E-ZPass system, which many drivers already use to pay tolls on bridges, tunnels and highways.
Electronic detection points were placed at entrances to and exits from the tolling zone. On avenues, the equipment had generally already been placed between 60th and 61st Streets.
Would drivers have needed an E-ZPass?
Drivers would have been charged for going through the zone regardless of whether they had an E-ZPass, but the toll for those without a transponder was much higher than for those with one.
Drivers of cars without an E-ZPass, for instance, would have paid $22.50 during peak hours, instead of the $15 they would have paid if they had one. Large trucks and sightseeing buses would have paid $54 without an E-ZPass during peak hours instead of $36 with one.
Drivers who did not have E-ZPasses mounted to their cars would have been identified with cameras that take photos of their license plates, and they would have gotten bills in the mail.
For drivers who didn’t have bank accounts, the authority would have sold prepaid cards, known as Reload Cards, that could be loaded with cash.
Would toll evaders have been punished?
Transportation officials had said they would have penalized drivers for skipping the tolls.
The M.T.A. charges late fees ranging from $5 to $100 for existing tolls, so it is very likely it would have charged late fees for congestion pricing tolls, too.
The authority suspends vehicle registrations for people who don’t pay, and officials can bar them from using the region’s bridges and tunnels.
M.T.A. officers routinely stop and seize vehicles from repeat offenders.
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