When, How, and How Much: What You Need to Know About Charging Entry Fees to Manhattan

The introduction of tolls on the busy central streets of New York has reached its final stage. Edition The City told how and when this innovation will work and who it will affect.

People are slowly returning to Manhattan's commercial centers, and climate change continues to weigh on the city. Paying for the use of congested roads will help reduce traffic-related emissions as well as relieve traffic. A bill to introduce such a fee in New York was passed in 2019. However, inaction by the Federal Highway Administration under President Donald Trump has delayed the program.

Now that traffic is picking up again, New York's new governor, Katie Hockool, an important link in the vision, has pledged her full support for the idea. From the end of September, the MTA will begin a series of hearings to launch an environmental review of the project's implementation. This is the final bureaucratic step to introduce entry fees for Manhattan.

What is a congested road toll

Think of this idea as toll bridges or tunnels, but without the river. The city will take money from people for the right to call in certain places. In theory, the presence of such a fee will push some people to travel to these places not by car, but by public transport, and this will potentially reduce overall traffic.

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Which areas will you have to pay for travel

The New York City Transportation Authority (MTA) calls the project a "CBD toll collection program." You will have to pay to enter all streets and highways south of 60th Street in Manhattan, except:

• FDR Drive highway;
• West Side Highway;
• Battery Park Underpass and Hugh Carey Tunnel (Brooklyn-Battery), which connect FDR Drive to the West Side Highway.

Here's what it looks like on a map:

How much is it

The exact price of the toll has not yet been established. But previous offers included $ 12 to $ 14 for a car and $ 25 for a truck. The fee can be paid via E-ZPass (or by mail - for people who do not have it).

The 2019 law states that passenger cars should only be charged once a day. It also allows for a “variable fare” or fare that changes at certain times of the day or on different days of the week depending on traffic.

How the system will track all this

There is no exact information about this yet. Presumably, city officials intend to use TransCore's services to track payments. She was contracted with the MTA to set up a toll system in New York.

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Here are some of the highlights of the contract:

• The system should be capable of "detecting and identifying vehicles entering the CBD below 60th Street by class and size."
• It should include "optical character recognition" technology for reading license plates and identifying vehicles.
• Transcore must ensure that all physical parts of the toll system, such as poles and signs, have minimal impact on road visibility. The firm should use existing infrastructure whenever possible and avoid installing equipment in front of landmarks.

Why is this done?

Short answer: for $ 15 billion. This is exactly how much the MTA expects to attract by introducing tolls for the use of congested roads.

But money isn't the only reason. A greener goal is to reduce traffic and reduce air pollution and vehicle noise.

Will everyone have to pay or are there exceptions

A 2019 law removed three categories of vehicles from the list of vehicles that must pay to enter Manhattan:

• Ambulances
• Vehicles carrying people with disabilities
• Any car owned by families living in the Manhattan toll area if the family earns up to $ 60 a year. (The fees paid by them will be returned to them as tax credits).

Other exceptions may be added as the project progresses, according to Danny Pearlstein, director of policy and communications for the Riders Alliance.

When this innovation may take effect

From the end of September, the MTA will begin public hearings as part of a 16-month environmental assessment period.

If the score is positive, the project can move on to the hardest part. It will determine the final list of those who will be charged, as well as the cost and mechanism for how the fees will be charged.

That is, New Yorkers will begin to pay for entry to Manhattan no earlier than 2023.