Early data shows improved travel time for MTA commuters since implementation of congestion pricing

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is seeing travel times at inbound crossings and within the congestion relief zone (CRZ) be significantly faster than January 2024 since the implementation of congestion pricing on Jan. 5. According to data released by the authority, more than one million fewer vehicles have entered the CRZ than they would have without the toll.    

“Before the start of congestion relief, talk of lawsuits and doubts dominated the conversation, but now it’s the undeniably positive results we’ve been seeing since week one,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Better bus service, faster drive times and safer streets are good for all New Yorkers.”       

“Although we were always expecting major travel time reductions from the Congestion Relief Program, it’s still exciting to see it become a reality – especially for local and express bus riders,” said MTA Deputy Chief of Policy and External Relations Juliette Michaelson. “We’ll continue to share data on this first-in-the nation program and report on traffic patterns as people adapt to the toll.”  

According to the MTA, data provided by TRANSCOM shows inbound trips times on all Hudson and East River crossings are now 10 to 30 percent faster or more than they were in January 2024. The authority notes motorists crossing via the Holland Tunnel are experiencing the most improved daily time crossings, with a 48 percent reduction on average during peak morning hours, followed by the Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges, which are both experiencing an average of 30 percent faster trip times.  

MTA says travel time savings are also beginning upstream of the crossings, with motorists on the Long Island Expressway, Flatbush Avenue, NJ 495 and other roads leading up to the crossings also seeing improved speeds. According to the data, drivers in the CRZ are experiencing travel time improvements, especially during afternoon peak hours, with reductions as high as 59 percent.     

Transit customer experiences 

MTA notes faster traffic is improving the speeds of buses too, especially on express service bus routes, which utilize Hudson and East River crossings into the zone. Customers riding express buses from Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx are experiencing median time savings of up to 10 minutes. The authority says the New York City (NYC) Transit Department of Buses will conduct a pilot program to make small adjustments to time points along bus routes to take advantage of less congested streets.  

"Buses are running more reliably and efficiently and more customers are choosing to take them,” said NYC Transit Senior Vice President of Buses Frank Annicaro. “It’s great to see improvement to customer journey times along with ridership growth, and I look forward to even more New Yorkers making the switch to public transit as we continue to improve bus service to the CRZ.”  

“People are voting with their feet, taking the bus into Manhattan and trusting us with their commutes,” said NYC Transit Chief of Operations Planning Christopher Pangilinan. “This is a fantastic impact we are seeing on the crossings, and we’re looking forward to the future and taking advantage of these travel times.”  

According to MTA, bus ridership is growing, with express weekend ridership seeing a 21 percent bump in ridership and seven percent growth on non-express routes. Weekday express bus ridership is up six percent over January 2024, and ridership on the X27 bus route from Bay Ridge to Manhattan grew by nearly 15 percent on weekdays and 55 percent on weekends. The authority notes subway ridership has also grown by 7.3 percent on weekdays and 12 percent on weekends when comparing January 2024 and January 2025, building on the ridership growth trends experienced in fall 2024.  On the Long Island Rail Road, New Hyde Park, Douglaston, Garden City, Ronkonkoma and Woodmere station are seeing year-over-year ridership growth in January that has outpaced systemwide ridership growth.  

CRZ traffic patterns 

Since the launch of the CRZ, MTA says an average of 490,000 vehicles have entered the CRZ each weekday, with another 63,000 vehicles entering the Central Business District but staying on the excluded roadways, and therefore, not being subject to the toll.  

MTA notes data shows the majority of those entering the CRZ (57 percent) are passenger vehicles, 36 percent of entries are taxis and for-hire vehicles, small trucks accounted for four percent of entries and large trucks made up 0.5 percent of entries. For motorists operating exclusively along the excluded roadways of the FDR Drive and West Side Highway, MTA says nearly nine in 10 were passenger vehicles.  

The authority notes traffic patterns indicate motorists are shifting their travel to the overnight period, supporting a goal of the toll – to shift traffic away from the daytime when the zone is the most congested. According to MTA, 43 percent of motorists entered the CRZ via north of 60th St., 24 percent entered from Brooklyn, 16 percent entered from Queens and 17 percent entered from New Jersey.