New York City’s congestion pricing scheme has cut traffic entering Manhattan’s Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) by 11% in its first year, with officials reporting 27 million fewer vehicles entering the tolled area south of 60th Street since the programme launched on 5 January 2025.
Governor Kathy Hochul hailed the first-year results as proof the policy is delivering on congestion, air quality and safety, while underpinning a major package of transit investment.
“The results are in and it is clear that in just one year, congestion pricing has been an unprecedented success in New York,” Hochul said, arguing the programme has “met or exceeded expectations” across a range of indicators.
According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the reduction in vehicle volumes has translated into faster journeys on key crossings into the CRZ, with the Holland Tunnel reported as moving up to 51% faster at peak times and the Lincoln Tunnel up 24.7% faster. The MTA also said drivers in some cases are saving up to 15 minutes each way.
The MTA’s first formal evaluation report provides a more granular view of early impacts, while also underlining that the analysis does not cover the full first 12 months because of data lags.
In the evaluation period available at the time of drafting, the report finds 11% fewer vehicle entries between January and October 2025, around 7.1% fewer vehicle miles travelled within the CRZ between January and September and more than 21 million fewer vehicles entering the central business district between 5 January and 31 October 2025.
The report points to a 4.6% year-on-year improvement in vehicle speeds within the zone and on excluded roadways between January and October, with average morning peak crossing speeds up 23% year-on-year across monitored crossings over the same period.
Public transport indicators also moved in the direction policymakers have long argued is necessary for a credible congestion charging model: better bus performance, rising ridership and a stronger case for mode shift.
MTA bus speeds in the CRZ and on excluded roadways rose from 9.4mph to 9.6mph between January and September 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, a 2.3% increase, reversing a multi-year decline in average bus speeds in the area.
On demand, the report finds bus ridership on routes serving the CRZ increased 8% year-on-year between January and September 2025, while average daily subway trips into the CRZ were 9% higher than the same period in 2024.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the first-year anniversary shows the policy’s benefits are “clearer than ever”, adding that “working New Yorkers deserve less congestion, a well-funded transit system and a safer and quieter place to call home”.
The MTA said congestion pricing generated more than US$550m in net revenue in its first year, unlocking a US$15bn funding stream to advance major transit upgrades, including rolling stock and station accessibility works.
The evaluation report’s audited time window runs through October 2025, when it recorded US$467.8m in net revenue from January to October, based on US$573.1m in toll revenue and US$105.3m in operating expenses over that period.
Under New York State’s Traffic Mobility Act, the programme is required to generate sufficient net annual revenues to support US$15bn in MTA capital projects.
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The evaluation report states the programme remains on track to meet the projection, and describes how net revenues collected through October were used, including debt servicing tied to CRZ infrastructure costs and collateral for a US$500m CRZ loan to finance eligible transit and commuter projects.
It also lists early project commitments that may be funded in whole or in part through CRZ revenues or debt backed by expected revenues, including Second Avenue Subway Phase 2, accessibility improvements and electric bus purchases.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber framed the first-year experience as a broader proof point for delivering complex, politically contentious transport reform.
“The congestion pricing experience demonstrates what the new MTA can accomplish working with our state and city partners,” Lieber said, describing “flawless execution and unprecedented benefits for all New Yorkers”.
On environment and health, the Governor’s office and the MTA pointed to external research suggesting significant improvements in air quality, citing a Cornell University study that found particulate pollution (PM2.5) fell by 22% in the CRZ, with reductions observed more widely.
However, the MTA’s own evaluation report is more cautious, stating there was “no significant change” in PM2.5, NO and NO2 levels around the wider region in the early monitoring period and emphasising it is “too early to draw definitive conclusions” without a full year of air quality data.
The report does, though, model a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, estimating total GHG emissions decreased 6.1% year-on-year in the CRZ between January and September in line with reduced vehicle miles travelled.
The evaluation report also highlights progress on mitigation and monitoring commitments, noting that measures committed to in the Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact are completed or underway.
In operational terms, monitoring identified one intersection where traffic signal timing changes were required, leading NYC DOT to adjust timings at East 36th Street and Second Avenue in August 2025.
On freight impacts, the report includes early monitoring of truck crashes resulting in injuries or fatalities, stating there were 110 such crashes in the CRZ and on excluded roadways from 5 January through October 2025 and that this represented a 21% decrease compared with the same period in 2024.
For cities and transport authorities globally, New York’s first-year results will be scrutinised for two questions that matter more than headline traffic reductions: whether benefits persist beyond an initial adjustment period and whether net revenues translate into visible, confidence-building upgrades to public transport.
The MTA’s own evaluation makes clear that the “first evaluation report” is an early view rather than a final verdict, with uneven data coverage across topics due to reporting lags.
Still, the combination of reduced vehicle entries, improved crossing speeds and a revenue stream already being applied to capital commitments means New York has, at minimum, cleared the most difficult hurdle for congestion charging: demonstrating tangible outcomes quickly enough to sustain political and public support into year two.
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