David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New York City drivers had to pay $9 to enter Manhattan on Monday under the first such congestion charge in the United States, which aims to raise billions for mass transit and reduce traffic congestion.
The fee went into effect Sunday after New Jersey failed to convince a judge on Friday to suspend it pending an appeal.
The city rushed to implement the fee ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump, who has a residence in Manhattan, opposes the fee and has said he will try to block it.
New York City imposes a $9 daytime toll on passenger vehicles in Manhattan south of 60th Street. Trucks and buses will pay up to $21.60. At night, the fee is reduced by 75%.
Charged via electronic license plate readers, private cars will pay once a day regardless of the number of trips. Taxis will pay 75 cents per trip and ride-sharing vehicles booked by apps like Uber (NYSE: ) and Lyft (NASDAQ: ) will pay $1.50 per trip.
While New York is the first city in the US to introduce such a toll, London introduced it in 2003 and the fee is now £15 ($19).
Sarah Kaufman, director of New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation, said Monday that the experience of other cities around the world shows that the fee is initially very unpopular.
Then residents “started to appreciate the reduction in traffic and increased transit service. So ideally, that would happen here in New York,” she said.
The New York City Transportation Authority said the program would result in 80,000 fewer cars a day, about an 11% reduction, in what it called the most congested neighborhood in the United States.
More than 700,000 vehicles enter Manhattan’s central business district every day, slowing traffic to about 11 km/h on average. This is 23% slower than in 2010.
The city estimates the congestion charge will bring in $500 million in the first year. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the money would support $15 billion in debt financing for investments in subways, buses and other mass transit improvements.
