Gov. Hochul Eyeing Lower-Cost NYC Congestion Toll — But Will Wait Till After Elections

By: Ilana Siyance

Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering proposing an updated congestion toll for Manhattan — which will be lower priced and will exempt city workers including EMT drivers and teachers.

As reported by the NY Post, the governor is keeping the plans quiet until after the elections.  In June, the controversial $15 congestion toll for Midtown Manhattan was shelved despite Gov. Hochul’s support.  In announcing the halt on the plan, she had said the timing isn’t right as New Yorkers are already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.  When the toll was nixed, the MTA had already been banking on the influx of cash to be generated by the toll, and had already spent  $500 million to install readers and other technology to make it operational.

It isn’t clear how much the governor would want to charge for the updated toll. “[The governor] said, `We know we have to lower [the toll].’ She’s going to review the number,” said a source for the Post, who requested anonymity. This time, the governor would also contemplate giving city workers full exemptions, as last time the labor unions representing cops, firefighters, ambulance crews, and teachers were among the strong critics of the plan, saying their members would have to pay the tolls just to get to work.

“That’s something the governor brought up as well,” the source said, referring to a potential waiver for city workers.  Regardless, the insiders say Gov. Hochul is not slated to pitch the proposal till after the competitive elections in November, in a bid to help her fellow Democrats.

With the new toll plan, the lower price and the exemptions would bring in less funding, and Hochul and state lawmakers would still need to find other sources to help meet the MTA’s capital plan, the Post’s source added.  In October, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is slated to vote on its 2025-29 capital plan, which took a major hit when the planned $15 toll was halted. That toll was projected to raise up to $1 billion a year in revenue to help pay for transit maintenance, new rail cars and expansions.

Previously, an environmental assessment of the plan by the MTA had said the toll could be potentially as low as $9 for cars during peak hours for drivers entering Manhattan’s Central Business District below 61st street, and as high as $23.  The original toll plan had settled on charging $15 for cars during peak hours, and charging trucks between $24 and $36, depending on size.   The toll plan also had lower prices for nighttime drivers, in a bid to lower traffic during peak hours and help with pollution too, while providing  a constant source of funding for the ailing MTA.

Per the Post, in June, when Gov. Hochul had suddenly changed course and put the congestion toll plan on hold, Democrats had been desperately trying to win back control of the House of Representative.  NY Republicans had been poised to use the unpopular toll as artillery against the party in six swing House races in the state.

State lawmakers have denied a new plan, saying Hochul has not yet put forward a formal proposal  — and will be unlikely to do so until she presents her 2025 State of the State policy agenda in January.  “No one has offered any alternative proposal to me,” said Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), chairwoman of the state Senate’s Finance Committee.

A spokesman for the governor commented in an email to The Post on Sunday saying,   “Governor Hochul’s position has not changed and congestion pricing continues to be paused indefinitely.”  “Like the majority of New Yorkers, Governor Hochul believes a $15 daily toll is just too much for working people trying to get by in today’s economy,” wrote Gov. spokesman John Lindsay. “That’s why, as the Governor has repeatedly said in public, she is exploring multiple options with legislative leaders to fund transit as the pause continues.”