MTA: Fewer vehicles entered congestion pricing zone in first week

Travel times for motorists crossing a river to enter Manhattan fell by 30% to 40% and the number of vehicles entering the new toll zone below 60th Street dropped by around 7.5% since the MTA enacted its congestion pricing plan on Jan. 5, officials said Monday.

The early data, released by Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials, confirms "what we all have seen and felt as New Yorkers," said MTA deputy policy chief Juliette Michaelson, who called the preliminary figures "impressive."

Using traffic data compiled for Wednesday by TRANSCOM, a coalition of 16 transportation and public safety agencies in the region, the MTA measured a reduction of about 7.51% in the number of vehicles entering the "congestion relief zone" below 60th Street in Manhattan. About 583,000 vehicles drive into the zone on an average January weekday, according to the MTA, which would work out to about 44,000 fewer vehicles on Manhattan’s packed streets.

MTA officials acknowledged other traffic figures have emerged from various sources over the last week show mixed results, but noted some of that data did not take into account seasonal changes in traffic patterns. Traffic experts have said it would take months to get a full picture of the effects of congestion pricing. 

The MTA made its comparisons using known traffic counts in October, then adjusted projections to account for the fact that January tends to be among the lightest months of the year for traffic.

The reduction in traffic was especially apparent on the Hudson and East River crossings entering Manhattan, which saw travel times drop by about 20% to 30% on Wednesday. The faster speeds were most pronounced in the morning rush, when cars moved 39% faster through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and 28% faster across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Vehicle speeds also increased through Manhattan, especially during the particularly snarled afternoon rush hour, including 30% faster westbound on 57th Street and 21% faster eastbound on 34th Street.

The impacts of the new tolls were less apparent on Manhattan’s cramped north-south avenues. Speeds stayed about the same on Second, Fifth and Ninth avenues, but did improve some on Third and Eighth.

New York’s first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program took effect Jan. 5 following years of study, debate and legal battles. The program charges most vehicles $9 to enter Manhattan’s central business district during peak hours. The tolls aim to discourage some motorists from driving into Manhattan — the most congested area in the United States — while also generating funds for public transportation infrastructure investments.

Despite having support from transit and environmental advocates and many city residents, congestion pricing has proved hugely unpopular in the suburbs, including Long Island. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Nassau and Suffolk have criticized congestion pricing for adding to Long Islanders’ cost of living.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, has also voiced opposition to congestion pricing and Republican lawmakers met with him Saturday to urge him to end the program.

But Danny Pearlstein, spokesman for the Riders Alliance, a transit advocacy group, said given "the immediate success" of congestion pricing, elected officials working against the plan would also be working against shorter travel times for commuters.

"In the first week of congestion pricing, the nation's worst traffic gridlock has already vastly improved," Pearlstein said. "Drivers are saving tons of time."

There were also faster travel times on the MTA’s bus lines — some of which saw measurable increases in ridership last week, including express buses coming from Staten Island and the Rockaways, according to the MTA.

Despite some transit riders sharing stories on social media of more crowded subways and commuter railroad trains, MTA officials noted nearly 90% of Manhattan commuters already use transit, so if there were some extra users of the system, it would not be easily noticed.

MTA external relations chief John McCarthy said the MTA will soon start monitoring ridership patterns at some railroad stations, including by measuring demand at their parking lots.

"It’s an area where we anticipate some growth," McCarthy said.

Charlton D’souza, president of Passengers United, another transit rider group, said there was another side to the emerging trends.

"Empty streets will destroy small businesses eventually," D’souza said, adding the MTA is "not ready to handle crowds" that could switch to using transit.

"Every one is angry down here about congestion pricing," he said of the city subways.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.