The first vehicle charging scheme in the US is being introduced in New York on Sunday.
Car drivers will pay up to $9 (£7) a day, with different rates for other vehicles.
The congestion zone covers the area south of Central Park, including famous places like the Empire State Building, Times Square and the financial district around Wall Street
The plan aims to ease New York’s notorious traffic woes and raise billions for the public transit network, but has met with resistance, including from celebrity New Yorker and President-elect Donald Trump.
The congestion charge was first promoted by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul two years ago, but was delayed and revised after complaints from some passengers and businesses.
The new plan revives one she put on hold in June, saying it had “too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers.”
Most drivers will be charged $9 once a day to enter the congestion 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 hours, while larger trucks and tour buses will pay $21.60.
The accusation was met with a lot of resistance, including from taxi drivers’ associations.
But her biggest opposition came from Trump, a native New Yorker who has vowed to end the scheme when he returns to office this month.
Local Republicans have already asked him to intervene.
Congressman Mike Lawler, who represents a suburban district north of New York, asked Trump in November to commit to “ending this absurd money grab from congestion pricing once and for all.”
A judge on Friday rejected an eleventh-hour effort by officials in the neighboring state of New Jersey to block the program based on its environmental impact on neighboring areas.
Last year, New York City was named the world’s most congested urban area for the second year in a row, according to INRIX, a traffic data analysis company.
Vehicles in midtown Manhattan were traveling at 11 mph (17 km/h) during peak morning periods in the first quarter of last year, the report said.
