The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board, in its capacity as the board of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, has approved New York City’s central business district toll rates by a vote of 11 to 1.
The vote followed a public consultation period in which the MTA received 25,600 written comments and heard from 386 speakers at four public hearings.
The approved toll rates align with rates recommended by the Traffic Mobility Review Board on 30 November 2023, and put forward for public review by the MTA board on 06 December, with a handful of clarifications provided.
Passenger vehicles and small commercial vehicles – sedans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and small vans – paying with a valid E-ZPass will be charged US$15 during the day and US$3.75 at night, when there is less congestion, to enter the congestion relief zone in Manhattan below 60th Street. They will be charged no more than once a day.
“Today’s vote is one of the most significant the board has ever undertaken, and the MTA is ready,” said MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
“In advance of day one of tolling, we’ve increased service on 12 subway lines, advanced redesigns of the entire NYC bus network, and implemented the largest service increase in LIRR history.
“And there’s more to come with the funds raised from congestion pricing – more accessible stations, modernised subway signals, and new expansion projects like Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway and Metro-North Penn Station Access.”
Trucks and some buses will be charged a toll of US$24 or US$36 during the day to enter the congestion relief zone in Manhattan below 60th Street, depending on their size and function, and US$6 or US$9 at night.
The toll for motorcycles will be US$7.50 during the day and US$1.75 at night. Yellow taxi, green cab and black car passengers will pay a US$1.25 toll for every trip to, from, within or through the zone; customers of app-based for-hire vehicles will pay US$2.50.
As previously proposed by the MTA, qualifying authorised emergency vehicles and qualifying vehicles carrying people with disabilities will be exempt.
As will school buses contracted with the NYC Department of Education, buses providing scheduled commuter services open to the public, commuter vans licensed with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, and specialised government vehicles.
As previously proposed by the MTA, a 50% discount will be available for low-income vehicle owners and a tax credit is available for low-income residents of the central business district.
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