New York City starts driver congestion charging despite opposition

New York launched a controversial scheme on Sunday to charge drivers entering parts of the city, a first in the United States, putting local authorities on a collision course with President-elect Donald Trump.

State governor Kathy Hochul announced in November that drivers entering areas of Manhattan south of Central Park would pay a daytime toll of $9.

That plan revives one, originally with a $15 base fee, that she paused in June, saying there were “too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers”.

Republican politicians have called on Trump, a native New Yorker who vowed to kill the programme if elected, to intervene to terminate it.

Traffic on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Gridlock means cars can travel just 11km per hour on average in New York City. Photo / Beata Zawrzel, NurPhoto via AFP

Areas neighbouring New York City have argued that a charge would hurt their businesses and impair their residents’ ability to commute into Manhattan.

A judge denied an 11th-hour effort Friday by neighbouring New Jersey state officials to block the tolling plan on grounds of its environmental impact on adjoining areas.

That denial cleared the road for the scheme, which had faced other legal challenges, highlighting the difficulty of charging drivers in a country where the car is king.

The local MTA transit authority posted an Instagram video showing its chief executive Janno Lieber unveiling a “congestion relief zone” sign ahead of the system’s activation, to cheers from a small gathering of spectators.

Drivers’ ‘pain’?

The conservative New York Post newspaper attacked the MTA’s “cheery event” staged “hours before drivers are set to feel the pain”.

The plan is intended to reduce congestion and to help fund the New York subway system.

Hochul said it was revived after an assessment showed that it would work at a lower fee.

Some elected New York City borough officials as well as a powerful trade group representing haulers fought the project.

Taxi drivers’ associations also opposed the plan.

Their members, both pre-booked ride-hail drivers and drivers of the city’s yellow cabs, will not pay the fee themselves, but affected customers will be hit by a surcharge.

The scheme will charge drivers for venturing below 60th Street in Manhattan, an area that encompasses the business districts of Midtown and Wall Street.

About 700,000 vehicles enter the area every day, and gridlock means cars can travel just 11km per hour on average, and even slower in some areas, officials say.

There are numerous exemptions to the base fee, as well as a low-income discount plan.

In addition, there are discounts for drivers entering the tolling zone more than 10 times per month.

Similar driver-tolling schemes have been operated for years in other megacities including London and Stockholm, but US cities will be watching closely to see what impact the New York toll has on both traffic and revenues.

© Agence France-Presse