On January 10th, 2025, Shake Shack revealed a new combo deal for the tri-state area – a shackburger and fries for the steal of $9. The name? The Congestion Pricing Combo. The code? NYTOLLS. No, this is not a joke.
Shake Shack is a born and bred New York institution. Founded in Madison Square Garden, the burger chain has become a global sensation. But, no matter how far its wings spread, Shake Shack will always be a New Yorker at heart. So, like every other New Yorker, it adapts to embrace every part of its city – including the new congestion pricing.
New York City’s congestion bill has been a long-time coming. The plan was for it to go into effect earlier this year but it was struck down by Governor Hochul in June 2024. Part of her decision may have been influenced by not wanting to implement such a controversial idea right before election season – which would cause Governor Hochul and the Democratic Party to receive bad press.
After Donald Trump got reelected, however, New York City was faced with the choice of passing the charge now or waiting four years. Trump has made his stance on the congestion charge extremely clear – claiming on Truth Social Details that he would terminate congestion pricing during his first week in office.
There are many ways for a president to block the congestion bill. They could refuse to sign off on it or push to redo the environmental approval. But once it gets passed? There is not much that can be done to reverse it.
So, Governor Hochul pushed for a new, reformed congestion pricing bill that got passed on January 5th, 2025. It has a lower toll of $9 compared to the original plan’s $15 toll.
The new pricing applies to all of Manhattan below the bottom of Central Park (60th Street). Motorcycles and cars are only charged once a day no matter how many times they enter the zone while buses and trucks are charged per entry.
If a person has an E-ZPass, they are charged through that account. If they do not, people get a bill sent to the vehicle’s address and the charge is higher than with an E-ZPass.
One major objective of the congestion charge bill is to combat pollution. Every year, motor vehicles contribute to about 11% of New York City’s local fine particulate matter and 28% of New York City’s nitrogen oxide emissions. These pollutants cause lung and heart related health issues.
In 2020, a study published by The Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office found that congestion pricing could reduce particulate matter pollution by up to 17.5 percent and delays due to traffic by 15 to 32 percent. Less traffic means shorter commutes which means less pollutants.
Along with potentially reducing the amount of pollutants created, the congestion bill designates millions towards environmental initiatives within the city. Some of these plans include establishing an asthma center and case management program in the Bronx, installing air filtration units in schools near highways, and expanding the NYC Clean Trucks Program.
The money from congestion pricing goes to the bill’s other goal: to improve the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The plan is for funding to be directed to the MTA’s Capital Program.
Currently, the MTA is in a terrible state. “Horrendous,” says Murray Hill resident Angel Sumimoto ’25, “the MTA is always bad – people are guarding the doors these days.”
Many New Yorkers feel that the only place where the MTA is reliable is in tourist-trap sections of the city. “The MTA is pretty high functioning in my area. But, I think that’s because 42nd Street is the #1 station in foot traffic and connects the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and a shuttle so they probably make it a priority,” says Caitlin Kuhar ’26.
Some ways that the Capital Program aims to aid the MTA is through continuing to renovate buses into electric buses, increasing accessibility (adding elevators) to over 20 train stations, and modernizing the system that tells passengers when the train is coming for the A, C, B, D, F, and M.
Tammy Lam ’25 said, “I take the B and D trains, and while the trains are usually running smoothly, a lot of stations are not accessible. Whether it’s an elevator that seems constantly broken or no elevator at all, I think the biggest issue is making the train system more suitable for people with disabilities”
The congestion toll includes exemptions to support New Yorkers and organizations that need to drive through the zone. It is important to note that a person must have an E-ZPass to apply for these discounts.
Low-income drivers enrolled in the Low-Income Discount Plan (LIDP) receive a 50% discount on peak tolls after their first 10 trips in a calendar month. Additionally, residents of the congestion pricing zone who make a New York State adjusted gross income under $60,000 can qualify for a tax credit equal to the amount they pay in tolls.
Disability exemptions include people on the Individual Disability Exemption Plan (IDEP) and Organizational Disability Exemption Plan (ODEP). The IDEP covers vehicles registered to individuals with disabilities or their designated drivers while the ODEP applies to vehicles used exclusively to transport people with disabilities by services like Access-A-Ride or special education facilities.
Furthermore, authorized emergency vehicles – ambulances, police vehicles, firetrucks – are fully exempt from tolls. School buses contracted by the NYC Department of Education, licensed commuter vans, and public commuter buses also qualify for exemptions.
There are also some location-based exceptions.
Drivers on the FDR Drive, which runs down the East Side of Manhattan and has over 150,000 drivers each day, will not be charged. Similarly, drivers on the West Side Highway, which runs down the West side of Manhattan, will not be charged. The final location-based exemption is the Battery Park Underpass, which connects lower Manhattan to Brooklyn.
All three of these areas function as connections between parts of the city. Not everyone who is using the roads is going into the congestion zone and contributing to traffic. Thus, these exemptions have been put into place to not unnecessarily punish commuters that are traversing to the top of Manhattan or across boroughs.
Lam, who lives near the West Side Highway, said, “the traffic in Times Square is really severe; oftentimes, it’s hard to cross any street because of the amount of cars on the roads. However, I generally see this less in residential areas.” This observation sheds light on an important flaw in congestion pricing: not all of lower Manhattan is heavily congested.
Currently, the congestion pricing zone covers a large area and the boundaries can definitely be improved upon. Sumimoto said, “my area is not super congested, and also, I just walk.” Congestion pricing is typically not needed in places where there is no congestion.
But, there are benefits to liberal application of congestion pricing. “While restricting the areas is more driver-friendly, I think that the number of tunnels and bridges with the new tolls are needed to help reduce the severe inconveniences that Manhattan traffic brings. New York is such a walkable city, yet sometimes feels over-dominated by the sheer amount of cars – I think that the program could help the city finally embrace the streets without a blaring car horn in their path,” said Lam.
All in all, the congestion charge is doing its job. A congestion tracker has found that there has been a decrease in time it takes to commute along common routes in Lower Manhattan. While some commutes like from Coolidge Corner to Boston City Hall and River North to Motor Row District remain unchanged, the majority have experienced a positive effect.
Some Lower Manhattan residents, like Kuhar, are extremely appreciative of the bill. “Congestion pricing makes the streets quiet and less stressful. Bikes can ride safely on the street, so they don’t need to be on the sidewalk,” said Kuhar. “I always noticed bumper to bumper traffic between 7th and 10th Avenue from 40th-60th Street. The traffic there has definitely decreased a lot – as in 5-10 cars lined up at a red light instead of the whole length of the block). I can’t speak for other parts of the congestion zone, however, as I don’t go there enough.”
Others, like Minh Duong, father of Madelyn Duong ’26, have not noticed a change. “I have not felt [congestion pricing’s] impact since I’m driving at night. At night time driving is faster than the MTA.” This lines up with the congestion tracker’s findings of commute time barely changing before 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
The lack of nighttime change in congestion is due to the congestion pricing financially incentivising people to drive during non-peak hours. There is a 75 percent discounted overnight toll on truck deliveries to encourage them to be completed off-hours. Furthermore, across-the-board the price of congestion pricing is significantly lower at night.
Cars: $9 peak and $2.25 overnight
Motorcycles: $4.50 peak and $1.05 overnight
Trucks and Buses: $14.40-$21.60 peak and $3.60-$5.40 overnight
Once getting into office, President Trump had talks with Governor Hochul about congestion pricing. In those meetings, Trump reportedly said that he would not take immediate action. However, on February 19th, 2025, Trump posted that “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD” on Truth Social following a letter from the U.S. Transportation Senator Sean Duffy detailing why the federal government is withdrawing support for congestion pricing.
The toll for congestion pricing was implemented in line with the Value Pricing Pilot Program, which allows exceptions to the ban against tolling highways for congestion purposes. Senator Duffy’s letter claims that the congestion pricing toll is being mainly used to fund the MTA rather than reduce congestion and, as such, should not be supported.
New York’s government plans to fight back against this block. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called this “yet another instance of illegal federal overreach by the Trump administration” and Governor Hochul said “our MTA was prepared. We knew this could come and filed a lawsuit within minutes. I’m very confident we will be successful” in a recent statement. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber reassured residents that congestion pricing will continue as the lawsuit continues.
Continuing his assault against congestion pricing, Trump nominated Marcus Molinaro to be the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration. Molinaro has tweeted countless times about the danger of congestion pricing, mainly claiming that it punishes commuters in order to fund an inefficient and broken MTA.
Of course the net impact of congestion pricing may (and likely will) flux over time. The MTA may continue to drag their feet and not live up to their promises of improvement. But, this is a step towards change – change that New York City desperately needs.
Of course the net impact of congestion pricing may (and likely will) flux over time. The MTA may continue to drag their feet and not live up to their promises of improvement. But, this is a step towards change – change that New York City desperately needs.