After years of study and planning, and not a little controversy, the New York Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) activated the country’s first congestion prices program on January 5, 2025. Under an effort of the state’s mandate to reduce traffic and increase revenue to improve public transport, most automobilers entering Manhattan below 60th Street, a well -known area, a known area, a known area. Type of vehicle and other factors controlled by a network of more than 110 detection points equipped with 1,400 cameras and automated readers Ezpad.
While the program has survived so far on various demands, the future is far away. A temporary containment order issued in May has prevented the Trump administration from following its threat to retain federal approvals and funding for road projects in Manhattan, unless the New York state is finished by Crz tolls. This case could be decided by the end of this summer.
MTA, meanwhile, says that the program fulfills its goals, with incoming trips to all the crossings of Hudson and East River up to 30% faster than the previous years. Travel times inside the CRZ have also improved, with reduced delays up to 59%.
ANR’s correspondent, Jim Parsons, spoke to Juliette Michaelson, an assistant head of policy and foreign relations, about the program and what factors contributed to the success of the launch. This interview has been edited and condensed for more clarity.
ENR: First, tell us a little about yourself. How did you get into the field of transport?
Michaelson: I started in the environmental law arrena and realized what I loved more than anything that made cities work. Some of the most long -term decisions are related to transport systems.
Manhattan congestion price strategies have been discussed since the 1970’s. What ultimately provided a boost for the MTA system launched?
Juliette Michaelson
The 2019 state law that led MTA to implement a congestion price system that is part of the arrival of Amazon and similar services that, in recent years, had put many small commercial vehicles on the city streets, significantly affecting travel speed. There were also a number of high -profile incidents in the traffic system arising from subinvestment years. The 2019 law was designed to deal with these things.
What were the considerations of infrastructure in the planning and implementation of the program?
We worked to install detection points as discreetly as possible in all the ways and all the bridges and tunnel that lead to the CRZ. We have used existing Poles and we only have to install new infrastructures. This is a city occupied with a lot of visual, so it was important to do it as little specific as possible.
As MTA was developing and implementing the program, there are problems or considerations that showed more important than what was originally expected?
Although congestion prices have long worked in various cities around the world, this was the first time that it was installed in the United States, our challenge was to explain to the public the concept of mass demand in a public space that has restrictions. The price strategy was an attempt to dissuade the demand for space, applying the principle of supply and demand in a new context.
But also shows how critical the public commitment to a program like this.
We had a very rigorous and versatile campaign: affected by radio and television, signing the road, social networks and live seminars that anyone could start. I think for many people, even for those who saw the messaging, they only clicked differently once the program started and saw what it meant from day to day. There was really less traffic, it was calmer, the buses moved faster. It was a thing of “Believe -when you see it” but they saw it. And more people have supported the program since launched.
More than six months after launch, the program seems to work well. And are there amazing or unexpected results or trends?
The results have been very consistent. Each month, we see 10% to 14% less vehicles entering the area than they are introduced for months comparable in previous years. We are learning as we go, but it will mostly be foreseen.
From now on, how will MTA evaluate the effectiveness of the CRZ?
We will continue to monitor the number of vehicles that enter, the impact that not only has on the speed of traffic, but also the reliability of these trips. A recent Waze data study showed that the program had reduced traffic delays by 25% compared to last year. Together with our own analyzes, other non -profit agencies study the effects on air quality and other factors.
Are there lessons learned from the implementation of the program that other metropolitan areas can use to solve their own congestion problems, especially with regard to infrastructure?
If you use a financial incentive to get people travel less or at different times, or for spending, probably always has a positive impact on traffic. But a great reason that things work for us is that 90% of the people working on the CRZ had already been using public transport. It would be very different to implement a congestion price program if you did not have a good public transport network in its place.
