MTA expected to vote on final congestion pricing rates at board meeting
NEW YORK (PIX11) – It’s been a long time coming and has faced a lot of pushback, but we may have a final answer on the MTA’s controversial congestion pricing plan on Wednesday.
The MTA is hosting a meeting on congestion pricing Wednesday morning, which is when there could be a final vote from the board on the plan. The plan would add a toll for vehicles driving into Manhattan’s Central Business District south of 60th Street.
The tolls vary, but passenger vehicles could be charged $15 a day during peak hours and trucks $24 or $36, depending on their size, among others.
The MTA announced a few more exemptions, including for buses and specialized government vehicles, earlier this week.
There will also be credits for those entering the Queens-Midtown, Hugh L. Carey, Holland and Lincoln tunnels. There are several lawsuits currently aimed at stopping the plan, including one from Vito Fossella, the Staten Island borough president.
"If you have to drive your car in Staten Island you have to pay a toll for the Verrazzano Bridge, Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel and now they want to impose a third and that will be a financial burden. It will increase traffic in Staten Island," he said. "We don’t have a subway system we don’t have a commuter rail so people are forced to drive their car."
The MTA hearing today is from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at MTA headquarters.
If approved, congestion pricing could take effect this summer in June.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.