MTA to vote Wednesday on final congestion pricing plan, including new exemptions
Traffic in midtown Manhattan Nov. 30, 2023. Credit: Ed Quinn
The MTA is set to vote Wednesday on finalizing its congestion pricing plan, which now includes a few more exemptions, such as one for a popular Long Island commuter bus company.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials confirmed Monday that the agency’s full board will vote Wednesday on the toll rates for its Central Business District Tolling Program, which will charge most vehicles $15 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan during peak hours.
MTA officials hope to begin charging the new tolls in June, but have acknowledged that several pending lawsuits could delay the plan.
Juliette Michaelson, MTA deputy chief of police and external relations, said in a statement that the plan being considered by the board will be “closely tied” to the version recommended by an MTA advisory panel in October, but “with certain clarifications that include items raised by the City of New York and others.”
Those clarifications include granting exemptions to school buses contracted with the New York City Department of Education, commuter vans licenses by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, and bus companies providing scheduled commuter services, like the Hampton Jitney.
The Calverton-based private bus company had long pushed to be granted an exemption, just as MTA buses will receive, because it too will help reduce automobile traffic coming into the city. The congestion pricing guidelines previously offered exemptions only to buses operating under government contracts.
MTA chairman Janno Lieber, talking to reporters last month, said the original plan sought to differentiate a public bus system from “a private company that’s out there making money for a particular subclass of riders.”
The Hampton Jitney runs between Manhattan and several stops on Long Island's East End, charging between $32 and $72 per trip.
But Patrick Condren, of BUS4NYC, a private bus operator advocacy group, said that plan had unfairly disqualified bus operators like the Hampton Jitney, which, like public operators, run on fixed routes, and offer frequent, published schedules.
“All buses carrying the public, regardless of where they go, are part of the solution, not part of the problem,” he said at a public hearing last month. “Commuter buses are clearly part of the regional transportation system.”
Under the proposal, exemptions will also be granted to emergency vehicles, those transporting people with disabilities, and “specialized government vehicles.” MTA officials said they recently clarified with city officials which vehicles will be granted exemptions. Those exempt represent less than half of the city’s nonemergency fleet.
The $15 toll would apply to most vehicles with E-ZPass. Trucks would be charged $24 to $36, depending on their size. Non E-ZPass customers — about 5% of all vehicles — would pay 50% more, making the “base toll” $22.50.
Rates would be discounted by 75% during overnight hours — 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends — and drivers meeting low-income guidelines would pay 50% less after their first 10 trips.
Adopted as law by the State Legislature in 2019, the MTA's congestion pricing plans aims to reduce traffic in Manhattan and improve air quality, while also generating $1 billion in annual revenue. The MTA plans to use the money to issue bonds that will fund $15 billion in capital projects. Many of those projects are currently on hold pending the resolution of the various lawsuits challenging the legality of the transit authority's congestion pricing plan, including those filed by elected officials in New Jersey and in Staten Island.
The proposal is expected to pass with little resistance, as most MTA Board members have signaled their intention to vote yes, including two of Long Island's three votes on the board — new Suffolk representative Marc Herbst and Sammy Chu, who was recently appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Nassau representative David Mack was the only MTA Board member to vote no on an initial resolution to advance the plan in December. He said congestion pricing would bring “an added burden” to New Yorkers.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
