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Report shows congestion pricing stats six months in

After gaining approval from state lawmakers, New York will become the first U.S. city to levy fees on motorists who drive on some of its most congested streets. Here, traffic fills 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan in January 2018.
Drew Angerer
/
Getty Images
After gaining approval from state lawmakers, New York will become the first U.S. city to levy fees on motorists who drive on some of its most congested streets. Here, traffic fills 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan in January 2018.

Governor Hochul is presenting congestion pricing as a huge success six months into the program.

Over the weekend, Governor Hochul released a new report showing the number of vehicles entering the congestion zone is down 11 percent in the first six months into the congestion pricing program. Crashes in the congestion zone are down 14 percent.

“In New York, we dare to do big things, and this program represents just that - traffic is down throughout the region, business is booming, transit ridership is up, and we are making historic upgrades to our transit system. We’ve also fended off five months of unlawful attempts from the federal government to unwind this successful program and will keep fighting - and winning - in the courts. The cameras are staying on.”

Data from the Regional Plan Association and Waze shows traffic delays are down 25 percent in the zone and nine percent across the Metropolitan region. Subway ridership numbers are up seven percent. Opponents have argued congestion pricing is an unfair tax.