New York City’s Congestion Pricing Program

After years of advocacy by transit riders, unions, and clean air activists, New York City’s Congestion Pricing Program went into effect on Jan. 5, 2025. It reduces congestion by charging drivers to enter lower Manhattan, using that money to fund public transit projects.

Early economic data shows improvements in markers such as Broadway attendance and retail sales, which reports show have been $900 million higher in January 2025 compared to the same period last year. Additionally, with less vehicles on the road, air quality improvements follow. Traffic fumes are responsible for more than 1,000 premature deaths in New York City annually and are linked to illnesses like asthma and heart disease.

Congestion pricing programs have proven to be successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, relieving traffic congestion, and improving safety in major cities such as Singapore, London, and Stockholm.

In a New York State-based legal challenge, Earthjustice and our clients reached a settlement with New York State and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)/Triborough in 2024 to enact the program after an “indefinite pause” placed by NY Gov. Hochul.

In 2025, Riders Alliance and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, filed a legal complaint against the Trump administration’s Department of Transportation for attempting to end the long-awaited Congestion Pricing Program, less than two months after the program’s successful launch. The complaint charges that the Trump administration made serious legal mistakes in its rush to deprive New Yorkers of the benefits of Congestion Pricing, and that these mistakes suggest that the administration is acting pretextually.