2 days Ago
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Once congestion pricing starts, drivers can use E-ZPass to pay the toll, thanks to the series of cameras installed around Manhattan in the last few months.
The MTA is advising drivers to make sure their E-ZPass account has their current license plate on file. Anyone without a tag, or with out-of-date information on their account will be charged via Tolls by Mail. Anyone using Tolls by Mail can expect to pay about 50% more when entering Manhattan than drivers with E-ZPass.
Passenger vehicles will be charged $13.50 as opposed to $9, and motorcycles will have to pay $6.75 instead of $4.
50 if a driver uses Tolls by Mail, for example. Here’s what else drivers need to know before congestion pricing is set to begin on Sunday, Jan. 5.
Congestion pricing is back?! Yes. In mid-November, Gov. Kathy Hochul officially reinstated congestion pricing for New York City.
At the press conference announcing this decision, the governor characterized her initial opposition to the program as a concern over the high cost for working New Yorkers. What is congestion pricing? Congestion pricing refers to using electronic tolling to charge vehicles for entering certain areas of Manhattan — the Congestion Relief Zone — during peak commuting hours. This aims to reduce traffic congestion and raise money for public transportation upgrades.
Revenue generated from the program will be bonded against and to fund around $15 billion worth of capital projects in the city’s aging transit systems. What is the Congestion Relief Zone? As part of the $175 billion state budget approved on April 1, 2019, the MTA’s Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority will establish the Central District Business Tolling Program. This will charge travelers a fee for driving into Manhattan’s Congestion Relief Zone, defined as any area south of 60th Street, but excludes certain highways in the area.
When will this start? The official start date for the plan, according to Hochul, will be midnight on Sunday, Jan. 5. At that point, the program’s myriad cameras will come alive and begin charging drivers a once-a-day fee either through E-ZPass or the Tolls by Mail program.
How much will it cost? Drivers entering the Congestion Relief Zone will pay a fee that varies depending on vehicle type and time of day. During the daytime, defined as 5 a.m.
to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.
m. to 9 p.m.
on weekends, drivers with E-ZPass will pay the following: Overnight hours Toll rates will be discounted during overnight hours, which are defined as weekdays from 9 p.m. to 5 a.
m. and weekends from 9 p.m.
to 9 a.m. Additionally, Hochul said she wants to lower tolls by 75% overnight to encourage more nighttime deliveries in the city.
As such, passenger vehicles with E-ZPass will pay $2.25 and motorcycles will pay $1.05 when entering into the Congestion Relief Zone overnight.
Crossing credits Drivers entering the Congestion Relief Zone via the Queens-Midtown, Hugh L. Carey, Holland or Lincoln tunnels will be offered crossing credits against the toll. However, due to the lowered toll, drivers will now be getting crossing credits that are reduced by 40% when compared to the original plan.
Drivers who come into the Congestion Relief Zone via the Holland and Lincoln tunnels will receive a $3 credit, while drivers who use the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel or Queens-Midtown Tunnel will receive a $1.50 in credit. Discounts & Exemptions Drivers who make under $50,000 per year will receive a 50% discount on the standard toll for all crossings after their first 10 trips each month.
As previously required by state law, emergency vehicles and those carrying people with disabilities will be exempt from the program, with tax credits in place for residents living within the Congestion Relief Zone and earning less than $60,000. The MTA will also offer discounts for people disabilities or health conditions that prevent them from using transit. More information on discounts can be found here .
Transportation alternatives Hochul said that the MTA will be adding more service to at least 23 bus routes, putting a high priority on adding more frequent trips for the outer boroughs. Four express bus routes on Staten Island were selected earlier this year for expanded service that coincided with the original start date of the program. These include the SIM1C , SIM4C , SIM23 and SIM24 .
There were also two routes selected in Brooklyn — the BM2 and BM5 lines. In December, two local bus routes—the S46/96 and S79 SBS — were also selected to get schedule tweaks to shorten wait times and make service more reliable. The funding for these extra buses will come from the transit authority’s Outer Borough Transportation Account, which was created, and fully funded, to provide $50 million a year to improve transportation outside of Manhattan in preparation for congestion pricing.
NYC congestion pricing.
