How much money has congestion pricing raised so far?

Toll revenue was on track to reach the forecasted roughly $500 million for 2025 (about $548 million collected by December), revenue the MTA is using to back about $15 billion in bonds for capital improvements across the subway, buses, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.

Has Manhattan traffic actually gone down?

Yes. The number of vehicles entering the congestion zone (Manhattan below 60th Street) is down about 11% versus 2024 — roughly 67,000 fewer vehicles a day — and traffic delays inside the zone are down about 25%. Buses in the zone moved nearly 24% faster in 2025 than in 2024.

Has the program changed traffic in the outer boroughs?

The MTA's environmental review predicted modest diversion onto routes bypassing the zone, and outer-borough traffic effects have been a focus of ongoing monitoring rather than a documented surge.

Congestion Pricing After a Year

Manhattan’s congestion pricing program took effect on January 5, 2025, and more than a year of data is now available to start judging it. The MTA and Governor Kathy Hochul have released running updates — at the six-month mark and again on the program’s first anniversary — and the headline numbers are clearer than partisans on either side want to acknowledge.

The numbers

Vehicles entering the zone are down about 11 percent versus 2024. That works out to roughly 67,000 fewer vehicles a day, or more than 10 million fewer over the year. Traffic delays inside the Congestion Relief Zone are down about 25 percent, and across the broader region by about 9 percent.

Travel times have improved across the river crossings. Buses in the zone moved nearly 24 percent faster in 2025 than in 2024, and rush-hour delays at the Holland Tunnel fell sharply after the program began.

Toll revenue was on pace with the forecast. The program was on track to hit the roughly $500 million projected for 2025, collecting about $215 million in the first four months and roughly $548 million by December. The agency is using that revenue to back about $15 billion in bonds for the capital program.

The money flows to transit. Congestion-pricing revenue is dedicated to capital improvements across the subway, buses, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. In October 2025 the MTA sold an initial $230 million in bonds backed partly by toll revenue.

The diversion question

The most contested finding is what’s happened to traffic on routes that bypass the zone. The pre-program environmental review anticipated modest diversion onto routes such as the BQE through Brooklyn and the Bronx-bound highways as some drivers routed around the zone.

Outer-borough traffic effects have been a focus of the MTA’s ongoing monitoring rather than a documented surge, and the agency has continued to report on conditions on the surrounding network as the program matures.

The lawsuit

New Jersey’s federal lawsuit, backed by Governor Phil Murphy’s administration, challenged the program’s federal environmental clearance. The challenges survived early dismissal attempts but were largely gutted at the district-court level, and a separate 2026 ruling rejected the Trump administration’s bid to withdraw the program’s federal approval.

The legal argument is narrow: New Jersey contends the federal NEPA review of the program was insufficient because it relied on a reevaluation rather than a full environmental impact statement and did not adequately analyze diversion onto routes through New Jersey.

The dispute is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, whose ruling is the key pending legal question. A loss for the MTA there would not necessarily end the program — it would likely require additional environmental analysis.

What comes next

The program’s trajectory now turns on the federal court timeline at the Second Circuit and on the MTA’s continued reporting on traffic, revenue and outer-borough effects as the toll moves into its second year.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much money has congestion pricing raised so far?: Toll revenue was on track to reach the forecasted roughly $500 million for 2025 (about $548 million collected by December), revenue the MTA is using to back about $15 billion in bonds for capital improvements across the subway, buses, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.
Has Manhattan traffic actually gone down?: Yes. The number of vehicles entering the congestion zone (Manhattan below 60th Street) is down about 11% versus 2024 — roughly 67,000 fewer vehicles a day — and traffic delays inside the zone are down about 25%. Buses in the zone moved nearly 24% faster in 2025 than in 2024.
What's the status of the lawsuit?: New Jersey's federal lawsuit argues the program's federal NEPA approval was insufficient. The challenges survived early dismissal attempts but were largely gutted at the district-court level, and the dispute is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, whose ruling is the key pending legal question for the program.
Has the program changed traffic in the outer boroughs?: The MTA's environmental review predicted modest diversion onto routes bypassing the zone, and outer-borough traffic effects have been a focus of ongoing monitoring rather than a documented surge.