MTA offers congestion pricing discounts for overnight, low-income drivers
The MTA proposed congestion pricing discounts for low-income New Yorkers and those driving into Manhattan overnight. Credit: Charles Eckert
The MTA is trying to make its proposed congestion pricing plan more appealing to the public, including by offering discounts to low-income New Yorkers and those driving into Manhattan overnight.
The new measures, which would cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the state $207 million annually, are included in the MTA’s latest update to an environmental study for its Central Business District Tolling Program. The plan, which could take effect next year, would charge motorists between $9 and $24 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan during peak hours as the agency seeks to raise $1 billion a year in new revenue.
The tweaks aim to address fairness concerns raised during a public input process, including over the impact of the new tolls on low-income New Yorkers who rely on their vehicles for work. The MTA said it will offer discounts to low-income New Yorkers earning $50,000 or less per year, or receiving government subsidies.
They would pay 25% less than the regular toll rate for the first 10 trips made every month. The discount program would expire in five years. The MTA estimates about 16,000 people would qualify for the discount.
The MTA also wants to discount tolls during overnight hours by at least 50%, and possibly lift them altogether. To make the tolls free between midnight and 6 a.m. and still hit its annual revenue goal, the MTA would have to charge at least $13.20 during peak hours.
The MTA estimates that between 6.3% and 7.7% of the new revenue would come from Long Island drivers. The money would go toward infrastructure improvements throughout the MTA system, including the Long Island Rail Road, which stands to keep 10% of new toll revenue.
“I know some people will use words like ‘cash grab.’ But traffic, air quality, health, safer streets, better transit — that’s what’s in this for New Yorkers, and for the whole region,” MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said at a press briefing Thursday.
State Sen. Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore), a vocal opponent of congestion pricing, said he appreciated the “attempt to make some revisions” to the plan, but believes “it doesn’t change the fact that this is a bad deal for Long Islanders.”
“It will make it harder for families to stay here. It will make it more expensive to go to the city for work, for school, for medical appointments, to simply enjoy the city,” Rhoads said.
Also under the adjusted plan, tolls on taxis, and Uber and Lyft vehicles would be capped at once per day. Asked if the change made the congestion pricing plan more palatable, Lawrence Blessinger Jr., vice president of All Island Transportation, which owns several taxi companies in Nassau County, said, “not really.”
“All it is, is another expense to bail out the most dysfunctional governmental agency in the state of New York,” Blessinger said.
Other changes in the plan address potential environmental impacts in some communities, including from more truck traffic in areas caused by drivers looking to avoid paying the new tolls.
The MTA and state are vowing to build new parks and air treatment technology in some areas, provide new charging stations for electric trucks, and expand asthma care programs.
The new plan is being published Friday, a week after the federal government approved its release. Following a 30-day public input period, the MTA hopes to get final federal approval this summer. After that, a six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board, which includes a Long Island representative, will hold meetings and come up with a recommendation for toll amounts, as well as potential discounts and exemptions.
Transit advocates celebrated the progress made on congestion pricing, which was approved by the State Legislature in 2019. Elizabeth Adams of Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit organization, called the plan “a win for everyone.”
“With the go-ahead from the federal government, it’s time for New York State to implement congestion pricing without delay and take steps today to permanently reclaim that space from cars,” Adams said.
The MTA is trying to make its proposed congestion pricing plan more appealing to the public, including by offering discounts to low-income New Yorkers and those driving into Manhattan overnight.
The new measures, which would cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the state $207 million annually, are included in the MTA’s latest update to an environmental study for its Central Business District Tolling Program. The plan, which could take effect next year, would charge motorists between $9 and $24 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan during peak hours as the agency seeks to raise $1 billion a year in new revenue.
The tweaks aim to address fairness concerns raised during a public input process, including over the impact of the new tolls on low-income New Yorkers who rely on their vehicles for work. The MTA said it will offer discounts to low-income New Yorkers earning $50,000 or less per year, or receiving government subsidies.
They would pay 25% less than the regular toll rate for the first 10 trips made every month. The discount program would expire in five years. The MTA estimates about 16,000 people would qualify for the discount.
WHAT TO KNOW
- The MTA's revised congestion pricing plan, which could take effect next year, includes several measures to reduce the cost for some New Yorkers.
- The plan would provide discounts to low-income drivers, and those driving into the toll zone — below 60th Street in Manhattan — during overnight hours. Other changes include capping tolls on taxis and for-hire vehicles, and measures to reduce air pollution.
- The MTA says the plan would reduce traffic congestion and accidents, and address climate change. But opponents say the MTA is simply looking to generate more money from drivers, including those from Long Island.
The MTA also wants to discount tolls during overnight hours by at least 50%, and possibly lift them altogether. To make the tolls free between midnight and 6 a.m. and still hit its annual revenue goal, the MTA would have to charge at least $13.20 during peak hours.
The MTA estimates that between 6.3% and 7.7% of the new revenue would come from Long Island drivers. The money would go toward infrastructure improvements throughout the MTA system, including the Long Island Rail Road, which stands to keep 10% of new toll revenue.
“I know some people will use words like ‘cash grab.’ But traffic, air quality, health, safer streets, better transit — that’s what’s in this for New Yorkers, and for the whole region,” MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said at a press briefing Thursday.
State Sen. Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore), a vocal opponent of congestion pricing, said he appreciated the “attempt to make some revisions” to the plan, but believes “it doesn’t change the fact that this is a bad deal for Long Islanders.”
“It will make it harder for families to stay here. It will make it more expensive to go to the city for work, for school, for medical appointments, to simply enjoy the city,” Rhoads said.
Also under the adjusted plan, tolls on taxis, and Uber and Lyft vehicles would be capped at once per day. Asked if the change made the congestion pricing plan more palatable, Lawrence Blessinger Jr., vice president of All Island Transportation, which owns several taxi companies in Nassau County, said, “not really.”
“All it is, is another expense to bail out the most dysfunctional governmental agency in the state of New York,” Blessinger said.
Other changes in the plan address potential environmental impacts in some communities, including from more truck traffic in areas caused by drivers looking to avoid paying the new tolls.
The MTA and state are vowing to build new parks and air treatment technology in some areas, provide new charging stations for electric trucks, and expand asthma care programs.
The new plan is being published Friday, a week after the federal government approved its release. Following a 30-day public input period, the MTA hopes to get final federal approval this summer. After that, a six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board, which includes a Long Island representative, will hold meetings and come up with a recommendation for toll amounts, as well as potential discounts and exemptions.
Transit advocates celebrated the progress made on congestion pricing, which was approved by the State Legislature in 2019. Elizabeth Adams of Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit organization, called the plan “a win for everyone.”
“With the go-ahead from the federal government, it’s time for New York State to implement congestion pricing without delay and take steps today to permanently reclaim that space from cars,” Adams said.
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.
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