By:  Hadassa Kalatizadeh

New York City is on its way to approving a $15 congestion toll, charging cars $15 to enter Midtown Manhattan.

As reported by the NY Times, NYC will become the first city in the United States to make such a tax for vehicles entering the busiest areas during peak hours. While for NY, the law has been stalled for years and become a great topic of controversy, three major international cities including London, Stockholm and Singapore already have similar laws to raise taxes while controlling traffic.  The pros for enacting the tax include easing traffic, encouraging mass transit, cutting pollution from vehicle emissions, all the while raising millions in much-needed government funds.

The congestion pricing plan includes charging passenger cars $15 to enter Midtown Manhattan south of 60th Street, during daytime hours of 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on the weekends.  As per the NY Post, outside those peak hours, the toll would be $3.75.  Motorcyclists would be charged $7.50 during the peak daytime hours.  Small trucks would be charged $24 during the daytime, while large trucks would be charged $36. Nighttime tolls for trucks would be discounted to $6 and $9, respectively. Drivers would only be charged once a day. Commuters coming in via the East River or Hudson River tunnels would get a $5 discount against the daytime price. Taxis and other for-hire cars, like Uber and Lyft, would not have to pay the daily toll, however, riders would have a fee attached to their receipt, set for $1.25 for taxis and $2.50 for other vehicles for hire.

The new congestion tax has garnered a good deal of opposition, particularly from those in the suburbs of NY or in the outer boroughs, who currently drive in.  As per the NY Times, the three international cities who have long enacted such tolls, also initially had faced public resistance, but kept at it and won over more support.  In 2006, Stockholm had tried a congestion tax, while facing resentment from drivers who felt they were being punished.   During that year, however, traffic there declined about 22 percent—down from 450,000 vehicles a day to about 350,000 vehicles a day.  Even the critics started to see the benefits and the congestion tax was approved by voters in a referendum, making the tolls permanent in 2007.

“People don’t love traffic signals or speed limits but they accept it as part of the urban transport system — the same is true for congestion pricing,” said Jonas Eliasson, the director for transport accessibility at the Swedish Transport Administration.  Similarly, in London, where the tolls were established in 2003, there was a swift reduction in traffic.  Within a year, there was an 18 percent drop in the number of vehicles entering the zone, as per city officials.  Traffic delays fell 30%. Air quality also improved, with a 12 percent reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from vehicles in the zone.  In later years, however, traffic returned and the progress seen faded, despite updates to the congestion pricing plan.

“New York should carefully study these other cities,” said Samuel I. Schwartz, a former city traffic commissioner and longtime congestion-pricing supporter. “We can learn a good deal from them in terms of public support, technology, and how we can improve congestion pricing going forward.”