New York City launches first Manhattan congestion toll scanners

Close to Columbus Circle and above one of the busiest subway junctions in the city, tolls on busy streets go from concept to near reality. New scanning devices hang over the streets near Columbus Circle. These are the first tangible signs that motorists will be charged tolls in Midtown Manhattan. What's going on, according to the publication I Love The Upper West Side.

New York City's longstanding campaign to raise billions of dollars to modernize public transportation by charging motorists to enter Manhattan's busiest neighborhoods is taking the form of vehicle identification scanners at West 60th Street and Broadway.

The installation of EZ Pass readers and license plate scanning cameras, similar to those already in use on the approaches to the MTA's nine bridges and tunnels, marks a major step for the CBD tolling program that the Federal Highway Administration signed into law in late June. after many years of delay.

Pay-per-view devices will be installed at approximately 120 locations, some of which have already been spotted on West 61st Street and West End Avenue. The toll zone will extend south from 60th Street, excluding vehicles on FDR Drive, West Side Highway, and the Battery Park underpass.

Drivers in the area are wary of the new devices.

On the subject: The introduction of entry fees to Manhattan has reached the finish line: when and how much will we pay

“I don’t like it because it will affect me,” said Segundo Sukulanda, an Uber driver. "We've been hearing about Manhattan congestion fees for years, but when we saw these cameras, we knew it wasn't just talk."

Drivers are expected to pay between $9 and $23 during peak hours to travel south of 60th Street, with at least 50% discounts from midnight to 04:00.

The fare is expected to provide about $15 billion for MTA upgrades, which include new subway cars and traffic lights, expanded subway accessibility, electric buses, and the extension of the Second Avenue subway north from 96th Street to East Harlem.

The introduction of the fee is intended, among other things, to reduce the number of cars, trucks, vans and buses entering Manhattan by 15-20%.

“Manhattan congestion fees are finally materializing, and soon they will start generating money to make the subway more reliable and affordable, and clean the air,” said Danny Pearlstein, political director of the Riders Alliance, an advocacy group. – The fee was approved over four years ago, but it was frozen. But now everything will unfreeze.”

Revision of routes

TransCore is installing structures that will charge vehicles traveling south of 60th Street and into Manhattan's central business district. In 2019, the MTA selected a Nashville-based company for a six-year, $507 million contract to build toll collection infrastructure by installing sensors on poles, elevated signs, or bridges.

The six-member road mobility review board, which met for the first time last month, is to make recommendations on charging as well as determine if there are any exemptions or discounts. The board consists of five representatives appointed by the MTA and one appointed by Mayor Eric Adams.

The MTA's governing board will then sign off on the final pricing plan.

Manhattan's congestion toll continues to face opposition from the state of New Jersey, which filed a federal lawsuit last month challenging what it called the plan's "stamp" of approval from the Federal Highway Administration, and from some drivers.

“It’s scary to think about,” said Ryan Torres, 34, a delivery driver who lives in Bushwick and commutes to Manhattan every day.

Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, the MTA division responsible for subway, bus and paratransit services, said the toll plan is progressing despite legal challenges and years of delays.

“No one can do anything to stop this,” Davey said.

The approval of congestion fees has some motorists wondering how often they will drive to Manhattan.

“If things go on like this, that is, additional fees begin to be charged, I’ll just have to take the train for several days,” admitted Nick Zaffuto, a motorist from Long Island. “Personally, I like to drive, but on some days it will be more convenient for me to take the train.”

As ForumDaily New York wrote earlier:

• In 2019, the state of New York decided to hit traffic jams with the dollar and approved a law on introduction of congestion fees in the busiest part of Manhattan.
• The path to toll collection in Manhattan's central business district has been a long one. As early as 1933, proposals to introduce tolls to cross New York's East River bridges fell through. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg attempted to push for the introduction of pay during his first term in office, but resistance from the city's outer districts and suburbs ultimately thwarted the plan. What has changed now, read in our material.
• In 2021, the MTA stated that no more waiting and we urgently need to introduce a congestion fee to Manhattan. And in September it became known that the introduction of congestion fees on the busy downtown streets of New York reached the final stage.
• In March 2022, the MTA announced that it was waiting federal approval (obtained in May 2023) its plan to introduce tolling on congested lots in midtown Manhattan. The fees themselves planned to start charging end of 2023.
• Once approved, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will set the Manhattan congestion rates, as well as determine the categories of drivers who will receive discounts and waivers. While tariff options are being discussed from $9 to $23 for entrance to the center of New York during peak hours.
• Staff New Jersey sues the Federal Highway Administration to stop driver toll program in Midtown Manhattan. There are fears that the program will place an unfair financial burden on New Jersey residents who work in New York City.