Congestion Charge introduced in NYC in US first
New York City has become the first in the US to introduce a congestion charge scheme for vehicles. Similar to the one in London, car drivers will pay $9 or £7 a day with certain vehicles having different rates.
“The system has been in operation since midnight [05:00 GMT Sunday],” Janno Lieber, CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), told reporters. Four hundred lanes of traffic have seen the installation of over 1,400 cameras and more than 110 detection points, along with over 800 signs, he added.
President-elect Donald Trump is among the city’s residents opposing the congestion charge scheme. But Lieber said that he was confident that agreements with the government would “stand up to changes of administration.”
The congestion charge zone now covers an area south of Central Park including famous sites such as the Empire State Building, Times Square, and Wall Street. The scheme hopes to help mitigate New York’s famous traffic and raise billions for its public transport network.
New York state Governor Kathy Hochul made a case for a congestion charge a few years ago. But complaints from commuters and businesses saw it delayed.
Most drivers will pay $9 a day to enter the zone during peak hours and $2.25 at other times. Small trucks and non-commuter buses will pay $14.40 to enter Manhattan during peak times while larger trucks and tourist buses will be charged $21.60.
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