New York's congestion charge is of course ground-breaking in the United States as the first application of congestion pricing to all lanes on an existing road (of course express lanes have offered the choice of priced lanes in many cities and on many routes, and there are toll roads with higher peak charges, but congestion pricing on previously untolled roads is new).
The scheme has been in place now since 5 January, so is well bedded in. It is timely to look at the results so far. It is designed primarily to raise revenue, which is why charges apply 24/7 (albeit with a significant discount during 2100-0500 weekdays and 2100-0900 weekends), but that doesn't stop there being a noticeable demand impact. It should encourage both mode shift and some trip consolidation (fewer motor vehicle trips), and also some time shift close to the 0500, 0900 and 2100 time period cutoffs.
The conclusion after six months is that traffic flows better, transit patronage is up and there are considerable net revenues being generated from vehicles paying the charge (which unhelpfully is called a toll).
The National Bureau of Economic Research Digest reports an 8% increase in the speed of car trips within the zone and to the zone, with a 2.5% increase in speeds from the zone.
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| New York City traffic speeds |
It also noted a 15% in average CBD speeds with a 20% increase in weekday afternoons (1300-1700) and 25% increase in weekend evenings (1500-2100).
The MTA has published data about vehicle entries and bus travel times.
In January, there was an 8% reduction in vehicles entering the charged zone compared to the baseline of the previous year. By June 2025 the reduction in vehicles entering the charged zone was at 14% compared to what was forecast had charging not been in place. It was down 10% in May, 12% in April and 13% in March. This is an ongoing trend, which should result in higher traffic speeds as well as improved air quality.
MTA also reports bus speeds. These indicate a modest increase overall compared to previous years, but the effects vary considerably when disaggregated to specific routes. Route B39 sees a 30% increase in speeds, M1 hardly any change, as it is obviously dependent on the impacts on specific routes.
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| Route M1 average speeds by month |
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Route B39 average speeds by month
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With a flat fee for all routes, it is obvious some routes will see significant improvements, while others will not (either because they are much less congested anyway, or demand elasticity is different for different origin-destination pairs).
Transit use has gone up. Subway patronage is up 6-8% per month. Long Island Railroad, Metro-North Railroad and bus patronage are also up by similar percentages.
The PATH (subway from New Jersey) has seen patronage increases in all but one month since January of 7-11% per month.
The Lincoln Tunnel has clearly sees reduced travel times during the day, but the Queens-Midtown Tunnel (which was already tolled) has seen little impact. Arguably in the mornings, there has been an increase, because those paying for the toll of this (and multiple other crossings) have the toll as a credit towards the congestion charge. This suggests some shift in chosen crossing to the tunnel because it is not longer punitively priced compared to the other crossings.
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| Lincoln Tunnel travel times |
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| Queens-Midtown Tunnel travel times |
Some of the data shows time shift around peak/off peak charges, but largely involving a slight increase before and after the change in charging times.
The website's conclusions so far are:
Overall, the policy has mostly reached its intended effects, at least directionally.
Traffic delays have decreased significantly across the board within the congestion zone, on tunnels and bridges to the zone, and even in the surrounding boroughs.
While time saved in traffic depends significantly on the route one takes, it has ranged from a few minutes shaved off an evening commute to a decrease of thirty minutes or more. Official MTA data shows tens of thousands fewer vehicles are entering the zone, resulting in reduced crashes and injuries.
Environmental effects have also been apparent: honking and noise complaints have more than halved in some areas of the Congestion Zone, and air quality has reportedly improved.
While long-term effects of Congestion Pricing will continue to evolve over the months and years to come and vary significantly based on individual experience, our current data paints an encouraging picture of the policy’s effectiveness.
Of course reduced travel times/ increased speeds are an obvious measure of success. Those paying are now getting a better experience, with improved journey times and less energy wasted (with lower emissions). However there is a lot of additional data needed to form a complete picture of the impacts. What I would hope to see by early 2026 is:
- Route by route average traffic speeds comparing free flow, pre-charging and post-charging
- Data on what happened to the reduced traffic (mode shift, higher vehicle occupancy, reduced number of trips, diverted trips) based on surveys
- Compliance rates (proportion of vehicles paying the charge compared to those required to pay)
- Complaints rates (numbers of formal complaints about charges)
- Impacts on businesses located within the charging zone, including those relatively close to the 61st Street boundary (some may be winners, some losers if the charge deters some customers)
- Data comparing local air quality within and just outside the charging zone before and after the charge was introduced
Will this encourage more congestion pricing in the USA?
It's too early to tell, but clearly the sky didn't fall in NYC, and there are some measurable and noticeable improvements in travel times and changes in behaviour. However, lower Manhattan is fairly unique in the United States. With the possible exception of downtown Washington DC, no other US city has a concentration of trips and employment so focused on its downtown that is responsible for much urban congestion (and lower Manhattan's geography lends itself to charging).
The big mistake will be thinking that the answer for each city will be to implement a cordon as seen in New York, particularly one that runs 24/7. This is the sort of nonsense that was seen when London was introduced, as it was assumed by some that every city just needed an area charge, but no others have ever been implemented.
New York is, so far, a success. It faces its charges being increased in future years to sustain those benefits, noting New York was introduced at a considerably lower rate schedule than was originally proposed as seen below. In 2028, the rates are going up by around a third on average, and another 25% in 2030 to meet the revenue targets desired. The impacts of both of those increases will be interesting, because it is likely they will be much more modest than the initial impact, but they may also prove to be politically more difficult.
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New York congestion charge rate schedule page 1
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| New York congestion charge rate schedule Page 2 |
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