Since congestion pricing tolls went into effect on Jan. 5, there have been 1 million fewer vehicles that have entered Manhattan's Congestion Relief Zone, bus rides are significantly faster, and travel times at inbound river crossings are 10% to 30% faster, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“Before the start of congestion relief, talk of lawsuits and doubts dominated the conversation, but now it’s the undeniably positive results we’ve been seeing since week one,” said MTA Chair and Chief Executive Officer Janno Lieber. “Better bus service, faster drive times and safer streets are good for all New Yorkers.”
Data shows inbound trips times on all Hudson and East River crossings are now 10% to 30% faster or more. Motorists crossing via the Holland Tunnel are experiencing the most improved daily time crossings, with a 48% reduction on average during peak morning hours, followed by the Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges which are both experiencing an average of 30% faster trip times.
Travel time savings are also beginning upstream of the crossings, with motorists on the Long Island Expressway, Flatbush Avenue, NJ 495 and other roads leading up to the crossings also seeing improved speeds. Drivers in the CRZ are experiencing travel time improvements especially during afternoon peak hours with reductions as high as 59%.
Data shows that the majority of those entering the CRZ (57%) are passenger vehicles. About 36% of entries are taxis and for-hire vehicles, small trucks accounted for 4% of entries and large trucks made up 0.5% of entries. For motorists operating exclusively along the excluded roadways of the FDR Drive and West Side Highway, nearly 9 in 10 were passenger vehicles.
Traffic patterns indicate motorists are shifting their travel to the overnight period, the MTA said. About 43% of motorists entered the CRZ via north of 60th Street, 24% entered from Brooklyn, 16% entered from Queens and 17% entered from New Jersey.
Bus ridership also grew, with express weekend ridership seeing a 21% bump in ridership and 7% growth on non-express routes. Weekday express bus ridership is up 6% over January 2024. Ridership on the X27 bus route from Bay Ridge to Manhattan grew by nearly 15% on weekdays and 55% on weekends.
Subway ridership has also grown by 7.3% on weekdays and 12% on weekends when comparing January 2024 and January 2025, the MTA said.
“Although we were always expecting major travel time reductions from the Congestion Relief Program, it’s still exciting to see it become a reality – especially for local and express bus riders,” said MTA Deputy Chief of Policy and External Relations Juliette Michaelson. “We’ll continue to share data on this first-in-the nation program and report on traffic patterns as people adapt to the toll.”
