Congestion Pricing May Not Take Effect Until 2021, Report Says

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Supporters of congestion pricing have seen a promising start to 2019. The new Democrat-controlled state legislature has begun its session, Gov. Andrew Cuomo voiced support for the policy and MTA officials recently held a meeting with legislators to work out how congestion pricing would be put into action.

But despite signs pointing toward the possibility of drivers being tolled as they enter Manhattan's busiest areas, New York City may be at least two years away from implementing congestion pricing should it pass this year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

MTA President Patrick Foye told lawmakers Tuesday that the agency would need two years to put a congestion pricing plan into action if it passes in 2019, the Journal reported. Two years seems like a long time, but would actually be expedient compared to cities such as London, where congestion pricing policies took longer than three years to take shape, Foye said Tuesday.

"We believe we can do it in two. There would be no piecemeal approach to this," Foye said Tuesday, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently called on the state legislature to pass a congestion pricing bill in order to raise funds for the MTA. Cuomo's plan would enact a toll on any motorist entering Manhattan below 60th Street as the "only logical and realistic option" to fund the MTA's capital projects and stave off a planned fare hike.

"Let the Legislature cast their vote on the real choice - congestion pricing or 30% fare and toll increases. It's A or B because there is no C. If the public understands the critical choice their elected officials are making, congestion pricing will prevail," Cuomo said during a Feb. 7 announcement.

Cuomo estimated that congestion pricing could raise as much as $15 billion for the MTA's next capital plan, but neither his office nor state legislators have announced any formal plan. The governor also called for a "congestion pricing lockbox" that would guarantee funds raised by the policy would be dedicated for MTA capital projects.

MTA Managing Director Ronnie Hakim said Tuesday that she would prioritize repairs for the subway's aging signal systems and creating wheelchair-accessible subway stations with funds raised by congestion pricing, but officials were not unified on spending priorities according to the Journal. Officials also said that a method of implementing congestion pricing still needs to be decided on.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently doubled down on opposition to congestion pricing, but said he is open to considering the policy should it include a "hardship exemption." The mayor did not fully specify what circumstances would qualify a driver for the exemption, but did offer examples such as a medical emergency.

Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.

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