Congestion pricing in Manhattan is coming — here’s what NYC motorists need to know

A congestion pricing tolling camera on W. 42nd St., near the Lincoln Tunnel.

Congestion pricing is finally on its way to Manhattan — barring a judicial ruling favoring New Jerseyans and outer-borough commuters who’d rather drive than take a train or bus.

It’s been 14 years since the idea was formally proposed by then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and five years since it was approved by the state Legislature.

After all the years of discussion and the ongoing lawsuits over its implementation, New Yorkers should be forgiven if they’ve lost track of exactly how the MTA plans to make congestion pricing work.

The Daily News is here to help. Here are some questions and answers about how Manhattan congestion pricing will be implemented.

How much will it cost to drive a car into the congestion zone?

Under the current version of the plan, for most motorists in most vehicles the toll will be $15. Drivers entering through an already-tolled crossing — the Holland, Lincoln, Brooklyn-Battery or Queens-Midtown tunnels — will receive a $5 discount for a congestion toll of $10.

All drivers will receive a 75% discount off the regular toll overnight, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. That means that during those hours, the fee for cars will drop from $15 down to $3.75. But during those hours, the $5 tunnel discount will not apply.

The discounts and base tolls will scale depending on the size of the vehicle. Motorcyclists’ base toll will be $7.50, and their tunnel-crossing credit will be $2.50.

Small box trucks will be charged $24, while big rigs will rack up a $36 base fee. Transit and commuter buses — whether operated by the MTA, another public agency, or a private company — will be exempt from the toll.

Larger tour or coach buses that do not operate on a fixed, regular route will be tolled as trucks.

Will motorists be charged every time they drive into the congestion zone?

Not necessarily. The current MTA plan would only charge motorists once a day for entering the congestion zone. Vehicles that drive in and out of the zone several times a day — for instance, a courier making multiple delivery runs in and out of the zone — will only be charged once.

The system will reset at midnight, MTA officials said. That means a driver who enters the zone in the early morning hours — before 5 a.m. on a weekday — would be charged only the 75% discounted overnight rate that day.

The system will work differently for taxis, Ubers, and other for-hire vehicles. Cars with Taxi and Limousine Commission plates will pay a surcharge on every hired trip into the congestion zone that will be added to customers’ fares.

If drivers will only be charged when they enter the congestion zone, why are cameras installed on roads leading out of it?

Eagle-eyed New Yorkers might notice congestion tolling cameras above roads leading out of the zone, or even out of the city — such as at the entrance to the New Jersey-bound tube of the Holland Tunnel.

While MTA officials originally floated the idea of charging motorists for days spent within the congestion zone — and assessing them by tracking when vehicles leave the zone — the agency has since decided to only charge tolls upon entry.

But MTA officials tell The News that outbound cameras remain necessary to track congestion pricing’s overall effect on traffic patterns, a legal requirement of the program.

How will the tolling system work?

The tolling system is expected to work much like the system already in place on area bridges and tunnels. In fact, it’s being built by the same firm that set up cashless tolling for MTA bridges and tunnels, Nashville-based TransCore.

Vehicles with an E-ZPass transponder will be picked up by E-ZPass receivers on the tolling gantries, which will log the transponder’s unique identifier and charge it a toll. Drivers without E-ZPass will be tolled by mail using license plate cameras.

The camera/receiver network will also determine when not to toll someone.

What if I’m driving through the zone to get somewhere else?

The West Side Highway, the FDR Drive, and the Battery Park Underpass — the tunnel under the battery that links FDR Drive to the West Side Highway — are all deemed to be outside the congestion pricing zone.

A driver who rounds the horn of Manhattan on the highways from the Upper West to the Upper East sides will not be charged a congestion toll. If you enter Manhattan at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and drive directly up to the Upper East or Upper West sides north of 60th St. without leaving the highways, you also will not be charged.

MTA officials tell The News that the camera system will make sure vehicles making such trips will not be charged.

How far along is the tolling system’s construction?

MTA officials said the system is currently about 70% complete. The work has cost some $550 million to date, with the MTA authorizing additional payments to TransCore last fall.

MTA officials recently stated in court that they expect to turn on the tolling network in mid-June. The infrastructure is expected to be finished well before that.

Public hearings are planned on congestion pricing for Feb. 29, March 1 and twice on March 4. If you want to speak at the hearings, you can sign up on the MTA website.

The MTA board is expected to hold its final vote on the plan in March.

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