New York City has received plenty of criticism from all types of motorists for its congestion pricing program. A new air-quality report is giving opponents fresh ammunition.
Before it even began, New Yorkers and residents in surrounding areas raised concerns over the country’s first congestion pricing program. Many of those worries centered on the potential financial burden.
After a temporary pause based on affordability ahead of a presidential election, congestion pricing went live in the Big Apple in January 2025. One year into the program, traffic in the congestion relief zone dropped by 11%, speeds increased as much as 51%, and transit ridership went up 7%.
Lower traffic appears to be holding. In June, central business district vehicle entries were down 5% compared to last June. Within the congestion relief zone, entries went down 1.5%. A recent independent study supports city data, showing an 11% increase in speeds in the zone and increases in areas outside the zone.
Although reducing traffic and generating billions of dollars for transit projects were the program’s core objectives, part of the pitch to sell the idea to the general public included claims that it would improve air quality.
In the 2021 State of the State report, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo stated that congestion pricing was “designed to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and promote mass transit usage.” Two years later, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the program would “reduce traffic in our crowded downtown, improve air quality and provide critical resources to the MTA.” Then-Mayor Eric Adams said congestion pricing would lead to “cleaner air.”
Has congestion pricing produced a measurable improvement in air quality? Not one that the Health Department could attribute to the program.
A new report from the department reveals that air pollution in the congestion pricing area and surrounding areas has either remained steady or improved only slightly.
“When we average the 12 (New York City Community Air Survey) sites inside the (congestion relief zone), the measured pollution levels were not significantly different than they would have been without the program,” the report concludes.
That conclusion was repeated for the rest of the city’s analysis.
While traffic decreased in the congestion relief zone and several other areas, it also increased in other parts of the city. In Port Richmond near the Staten Island Expressway, traffic rose by 4%, including a 5% increase in truck traffic. More traffic was also reported on the Lower East Side near FDR Drive and in Washington Heights near the Trans-Manhattan Expressway.
The independent study supporting the city’s traffic data also found “little effect on air quality.”
Despite high-level officials promoting improved air quality as a bonus benefit of congestion pricing, the Health Department’s results were expected. In the environmental assessment published in 2023, project sponsors estimated changes in “emission burdens” of less than 1% through 2045.
The Health Department’s findings stand in stark contrast to a claim promoted by Hochul’s office in January. While touting the first-year traffic reduction, the governor’s office said preliminary research showed pollution had fallen 22% in the congestion relief zone, with reductions throughout the five boroughs and surrounding suburbs.
Legal challenges continue
Numerous legal challenges to New York City’s congestion pricing have been filed, including one contentious battle between the city and the federal government.
About a dozen lawsuits have been filed by citizens, trucking associations, county governments and even the state of New Jersey. Courts have repeatedly rejected efforts to stop the program, and many of the complaints have been dismissed, with several failing at the appellate level as well.
The one to watch was filed the other way around.
President Donald Trump vowed to get rid of congestion pricing on the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 election. Soon after he returned to office, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Hochul that the federal government had revoked approval of the program and to shut it down.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority immediately filed a lawsuit against Duffy and the Department of Transportation. In March, the federal district court ruled that Duffy’s attempt to shut down congestion pricing was unlawful. That decision is currently under appeal. LL