MTA Awards $507M Contract To Build Congestion Pricing Tolls

MANHATTAN, NY — The MTA has selected a Nashville-based company to build the system that will be used to toll drivers entering Manhattan's central business district to reduce congestion and raise money for MTA projects, the transit agency recently announced.

TransCore beat out two other bidders to secure the MTA contract to design, install and maintain what the MTA calls a "first-of-its-kind" tolling system below 60th Street in Manhattan. Congestion Pricing was a major part of this year's state budget and Gov. Andrew Cuomo expects the policy to raise at least $15 billion for MTA capital projects.

MTA officials said that congestion is expected to take effect for all drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street in 2021.

"This nation-leading program brings us one step closer to making New York a more environmentally sustainable and economically vibrant city. Quite simply, it makes New York City a better place to live, work, and visit. I look forward to working closely with leadership at TransCore and New York City DOT as we move full speed ahead to make CBDTP fully operational in 2021," MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye said in a statement.

Designs for the tolling system are still in the preliminary stages, so the transit agency didn't have much to share on how the tolls will work. Since most New York City-area drivers use E-ZPass, TransCore may end up leveraging that market into its system, transit officials said. The tolling infrastructure will likely be installed on existing mast arms and poles throught the city, so the MTA expects a minimal change to New York's cityscapes.

TransCore will make $507 million for the duration of the initial contract, which covers the design and installation phases as well as a maintenance term of six years.

State officials have not yet decided on how much the toll will cost for drivers. The policy, while backed by prominent city and state politicians, did not prove popular among New Yorkers in an April Quinnipiac poll.

Some 54 percent of New Yorkers are against the scheme to toll drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street, while just 41 percent support it, says the Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. More than half the voters in each borough oppose congestion pricing, from 51 percent in Manhattan to 64 percent in The Bronx, the survey shows.

Patch editor Noah Manskar contributed to this report.