Congestion pricing started on January 5th in NYC, and a new fee is in effect for driving into Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours. It’s designed to reduce traffic, improve air quality, and fund upgrades to public transportation.
What is Congestion Pricing?
Congestion pricing imposes a fee on vehicles entering Manhattan’s CBD during peak hours to alleviate traffic, improve air quality, and enhance the quality of life.
Scammers may attempt to take advantage of congestion pricing by sending fake text messages. These messages could contain phishing links or request personal information to steal your identity. Always verify information through official city sources and never click on suspicious or random links.
How Does It Work?
- E-ZPass Users: The congestion fee is automatically deducted from your account.
- Non-E-ZPass Users: You’ll receive a bill by mail sent to your vehicle’s registered address.
Tolling Details:
- Tolling Locations: Tolling equipment is installed at various entry points to the CBD, including major avenues and streets below 60th Street.
- Exemptions: Vehicles that remain on the FDR Drive or West Side Highway without exiting onto CBD streets are exempt from the congestion toll.
Here’s how it affects you:
- Drivers: If you drive into the congested zone during peak hours, you’ll likely pay a daily fee (currently $9.80).
- Rideshare passengers: Expect an extra $1.50 per trip on Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hailing services within the congestion zone.
- Taxi passengers: You’ll pay an extra $0.75 per trip.
What’s the Schedule?
Peak Hours:
- Weekdays: 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM
- Weekends: 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Off-Peak Hours:
- Weekdays: 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM
- Weekends: 9:00 PM to 9:00 AM
Existing Tolls (for regular vehicles):
- Drivers are not directly charged for existing tolls for entering Manhattan.
- The existing tolls you may encounter are bridge and tunnel tolls (e.g., crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, going through the Holland Tunnel).
Free Routes to Avoid Congestion Pricing Tolls
If you’re passing through Manhattan without stopping, there are specific routes you can take to avoid the congestion pricing toll. However, if you exit onto local roads at or below 60th Street, the toll will apply.
Brooklyn Bridge
- Brooklyn-Bound: Take the southbound FDR Drive to the Brooklyn Bridge without incurring a toll.
- Manhattan-Bound: Use the northbound FDR Drive after entering Manhattan to avoid the toll.
- Important Note: If you’re coming from the Brooklyn Bridge and take the southbound lanes of the FDR Drive, you’ll enter the street grid below 60th Street and be charged.
Queensboro Bridge
- Upper Level: Drivers heading from Queens to the Upper East Side can exit at 62nd Street, just before the congestion pricing zone, and avoid the toll.
- Lower Level: Taking the lower level of the bridge into Manhattan or continuing south past 62nd Street will trigger the toll.
Exempt Routes
Trips made entirely on the following roads are excluded from congestion pricing fees:
- FDR Drive
- West Side Highway
- Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connections to West Street
