Hochul Poised to Revive Congestion Pricing With $9 Tolls: Report

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is slowly stepping on the gas pedal after stomping on the brakes.

Congestion pricing, officially known as the Central Business District Tolling Program, which Hochul’s administration inexplicably paused in June to the outrage of many, may finally be enacted with a $9 charge for most cars entering Manhattan below 60th Street.

The cameras above entry points into Midtown Manhattan will be activated Dec. 29, according to Gothamist, which first reported the story.

A $9 toll for most cars would mean a 40 percent reduction in price from the $15 agreed upon by the real estate-heavy Traffic Mobility Review Board and later approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in March 2024.

The Hochul administration and the MTA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“Subway and bus riders campaigned for the better part of a decade, held two governors accountable, and won a transformative plan to fix the subway,” Danny Pearlstein, policy director of the Riders Alliance, said in a statement. “In this new era, New York leaders must govern with more courage than ever before. If she moves forward, Gov. Hochul will demonstrate the kind of leadership that we will need in abundance and which riders will continue to demand from her.”

The return of congestion pricing likely does little to dispel rumors that the program was paused in the 11th hour due to political pressure from Democrats hoping to hold a U.S. Senate majority and win control of the House following the Nov. 5 elections, considering the timing of her administration’s reversal.

Hochul denied that the pausing congestion pricing had anything to do with politics, stating that she feared it could damage return-to-office efforts of companies in the transit-rich central business district of Manhattan

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.