🚦Congestion Countdown: Welcome to Edition #20 of the BOMA-NY Transportation Report 🗞️
December 2024 | BOMA-NY Codes & Regs Committee
Just in time for the New Year—and possibly a legal showdown—the MTA has given the green light: Congestion Pricing will begin January 5, 2025.
After months of lawsuits, political reversals, toll tweaks, and more false starts than a Midtown traffic light, the U.S. DOT and the MTA board have approved a scaled-back tolling plan that’s lighter on the wallet, but still promises billions in transit investment and cleaner air. Governor Hochul called it a reset. Transit advocates call it the beginning. Donald Trump? He called it “the most regressive tax known to womankind.”
This issue is a Special Congestion Pricing Edition, breaking down the rules, rates, rebates, politics, and pandemonium surrounding the first urban tolling zone in the U.S. From Wall Street to the Cross Bronx, from Second Avenue to Newark, here’s what’s coming and who’s furious.
In this issue:
💸 $9 base toll goes live Jan. 5, down from the originally proposed $15
🚙 Peak-hour rates vary for cars, trucks, taxis, and motorcycles—off-peak is cheaper
🎁 Discounts galore: for low-income drivers, tunnel users, and those living in the zone
📉 MTA expects fewer cars, less pollution, and billions in bonding power
🗳️ Trump vows to kill it, NJ sues to block it, and the public still hates it
🚆 Funds will support the Second Ave Subway, signal upgrades, accessibility & electric buses
🧾 A single NJ E-ZPass trip into Manhattan could now cost up to $28.71
📍 406,000 vehicles vs. 3.6 million subway riders: who’s driving who?
— Glenn Waldorf
Transportation Subcommittee Chair
Bell Environmental Services
📞 973-575-7800
✉️ info@bellenv.com
✅ December 2024 Transportation Report Summary Bullets
🚦 Congestion Pricing Toll Plan Overview – With A Start Date of January 5, 2025
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Passenger vehicles with E-ZPass:
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$9 peak (5am–9pm weekdays, 9am–9pm weekends)
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$2.25 overnight
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Without E-ZPass:
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$13.50 peak, $3.30 overnight
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Commercial vehicles:
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Multi-unit trucks: $21.60 peak
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Single-unit trucks: $14.40 peak
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Motorcycles (E-ZPass): $4.50 peak
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Taxis & Uber/Lyft:
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$0.75 surcharge for yellow/green cabs
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$1.50 for ride-hail trips
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🧾 Discounts & Exemptions
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Low-income drivers (<$50K/year): 50% toll discount after 10 trips/month
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Tunnel users: $1.50–$3 credit depending on entry route
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Residents in the zone earning <$60K/year: tax rebate available
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Exemptions: emergency vehicles, disability transport, 11,000 school buses, 15,000 municipal vehicles
💰 Future Increases
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$9 toll holds through 2027
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Increases to $12 (2028–2030), and $15+ from 2031 onward
🚆 What It Funds
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Second Ave Subway Phase 2
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ADA upgrades at 20+ stations
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Modernized signals on A/C/B/D/F/M lines
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New electric buses
🌍 Environmental Goals
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5% reduction in vehicle miles
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10% fewer cars in the congestion zone
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Clean air gains expected in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, but possibly not in Bronx, Staten Island, or NJ
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NYC plans to cap the Cross Bronx Expressway to offset negative effects
🚗 Public Backlash & Political Turmoil
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Trump vows to repeal it, calling it “the most regressive tax known to womankind”
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NJ sues feds, arguing environmental review was inadequate
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Poll: most New Yorkers still oppose it
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Chinatown, Lower Manhattan merchants voice concern over foot traffic & delivery costs
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Plate-disguising devices and “ghost cars” surge — crackdown and $500 fines pending
🧮 NJ Toll Math
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Port Authority tolls may rise Jan 5
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Peak EZ-Pass toll: $16.06
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Congestion fee with discount: $6.00–$13.40
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Max one-way cost (no EZ-Pass): $28.71 from NJ to Manhattan
🤯 Extras & Humor
- Even with congestion pricing, Bell Environmental will still make it to BOMA NY meetings with breakfast in tow.
