Why Are Increases in Fares and Tolls Being Considered If Congestion Pricing is Such a Success in New York?

Why are increases in fares and tolls being considered if congestion pricing is such a rousing success in New York greater than eight months since it has been implemented?

Why Are Increases in Fares and Tolls Being Considered If Congestion Pricing is Such a Success in New York?

The operating budget of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for 2025 was already approved by the board of directors back in December of 2024, which assumed that an increase in fares and tolls would be in effect in March of 2025 — but the increases and changes in ticketing policies have been delayed until at least January of 2026 to be in effect in order to align them with the launch of full tap-and-go technology on subways and buses.

The proposed changes in fares and tolls are as follows:

• Proposed changes to New York City Transit fares
  • The base fare for subways, local buses, and Access-A-Ride would increase 10 cents, from $2.90 to $3.00. The reduced fare would increase from $1.45 to $1.50. Learn more about the MTA Reduced-Fare program.
  • The 7-day rolling fare cap would become permanent. Pay for 12 rides in a 7-day period and any additional rides are free. At the proposed base fare, no rider would pay more than $36 in a week. Reduced-fare customers would pay no more than $18 in a week.
  • The express bus base fare would increase from $7 to $7.25. The reduced fare would increase from $3.50 to $3.60.
    • Because express buses travel greater distances than local buses and use the highway network to connect neighborhoods lacking transit access to Manhattan, New York City Transit provides coach buses and charges a higher fare than local buses.
  • A fare cap would be added for customers who use the express bus network. Express bus riders would never pay more than $67 for unlimited express bus, local bus, and subway rides in any 7-day period.
  • The Single Ride ticket would increase from $3.25 to $3.50.
  • The fee for a new OMNY card would increase to $2 when the MetroCard is no longer accepted for fare payment later in 2026. OMNY cards are more durable and last for up to 5 years.
  • No changes are proposed to discount policies for seniors, people with disabilities, students, and the Paratransit Zero Fare.
  • See proposed fare tables for New York City Transit.
• Proposed changes to Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad fares
  • Monthly and weekly tickets would increase up to 4.5 percent across both railroads.
    • Even with this increase, monthly ticket prices would remain lower than they were prior to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic and would not exceed $500.00.
  • All other ticket types would increase up to eight percent.
  • Peak CityTicket would increase from $7.00 to $7.25 and Off-Peak CityTicket would increase from $5 to $5.25. This change would also apply to the Far Rockaway ticket.
    • All one-way tickets in the city zones would match CityTicket prices, so no customer would pay more than $7.25 in the peak or $5.25 in the off-peak for travel within New York City.
    • Peak CityTicket and Far Rockaway Ticket would become permanent fare products.
  • The surcharge for tickets purchased onboard from a conductor would increase by $2. There would be an equivalent surcharge for tickets purchased onboard using the TrainTime mobile software application program.
  • See proposed fare tables for Long Island Rail Road.
  • See proposed fare tables for Metro-North Railroad.

Since the Central Business District Tolling Program of the city of New York became effective as of Sunday, January 5, 2025, supporters of the program — which includes the current governor of the state of New York — boast that:

• Revenue from the program is expected to reach $500 million this year, which will allow the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to move forward with $15 billion in crucial improvements across subways, buses, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad — including but not limited to the addition of elevators and other accessibility measures at subway and railroad stations, and new subway cars and signals.
• Delays have decreased by 25 percent in the congestion relief zone; by nine percent across the greater metropolitan region; and by 14 percent in parts of Bergen County in New Jersey, according to this report from the Regional Plan Association.
• The number of vehicles entering the congestion relief zone in lower Manhattan has been reduced by eleven percent — which means that 67,000 fewer vehicles enter the zone per day; or ten million fewer vehicles overall entered in the zone.
• Rush hour delays at the Holland Tunnel have declined by 65 percent.
• Crashes and traffic accidents in the congestion zone decreased by 14 percent, with 15 percent fewer injuries.
• Complaints pertaining to honking horns and vehicle noise to 311 in the congestion zone had decreased by 45 percent.
• Ridership has increased on:
  • The subway system by seven percent compared to the same time last year
  • Buses by twelve percent
  • The Long Island Rail Road by eight percent
  • Metro-North Railroad by six percent
• Performance has improved to 85 percent in May of 2025 as subway trains have been on time, which is the best ever recorded outside of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic.
• Commuters are saving an estimated 21 minutes on an average trip, which allows businesses to complete more deliveries at lower cost — which saves an estimated annual value of approximately $1.3 billion.
• The number of pedestrians in the relief zone has increased by aprroximately 8.4 percent, which is greater than the increase of 2.7 percent outside of the congestion zone — which has resulted in more business in the congestion zone.

Showdown Averted — For Now

Remember that congestion pricing showdown between the Federal Highway Administration of the Department of Transportation of the United States and the departments of transportation of both the city and state of New York that was underway on Thursday, February 27, 2025?

Although the rescission of approval and termination of the original agreement for the Central Business District Tolling Program was to become effective as of Friday, March 21, 2025, the state of New York was granted a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 by Lewis J. Liman, who is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which allowed congestion pricing to continue.

The original expiration date of the temporary restraining order was Monday, June 9, 2025; but on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Liman granted the motion by the state of New York for a preliminary injunction, which effectively extends the temporary restraining order until a final ruling on the case is reached — which is not expected until at least near the conclusion of 2025 — meaning that the Central Business District Tolling Program of the city of New York is safe for now and can continue to operate until further notice.

A Brief History of the Congestion Pricing Program

On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, this article that was published at The Gate With Brian Cohen first reported that a congestion pricing program may be coming to the city of New York — along with a plethora of information that led to that initial proposal.

The toll rates were then revealed after members of the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority overwhelmingly voted to approve congestion pricing in the city of New York on the morning of Wednesday, December 6, 2023 — and the cost would initially be a minimum of $15.00 per day for passenger vehicles before the program was paused indefinitely on Thursday, June 6, 2024.

Despite the “indefinite pause”, the New York Congestion Pricing Program became effective as of Sunday, January 5, 2025 at midnight pursuant upon approval by the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at its meeting on Monday, November 18, 2024. The toll was reduced to nine dollars per day for the initial implementation of the program; and the following schedule of the cost for motorists to enter the lower half of Manhattan was announced with a daytime automobile E-ZPass toll of:

• $9.00 from 2025 through 2027
• $12.00 from 2028 through 2030

Final Boarding Call

As long as the Central Business District Tolling Program of the city of New York is in place, trucking companies must pay the congestion pricing toll — and they likely pass the cost onto their customers, who pass the cost onto their customers…

…and if more cities in the United States trend towards favoring adoption of a similar program, that means that consumers across the country will likely ultimately pay the cost in the form of increased prices on goods.

Meanwhile, congestion pricing, tolls, and fares seem to constantly be increasing. When does the point come when enough is enough? Is all of the money being brought in being used for the benefit of the constituency of the politicians in the both the city and state of New York — or is outright greed, embezzlement, or some other corrupt scheme going on?

Parts of the city of New York actually has been improved — a segment of the Second Avenue Subway actually and finally exists after decades of planning and debates, as one example; and the second phase has begun, with construction beginning in 2026…

…but I cannot help disbelieving that all of this new money is being used for all of the intended purposes — especially as the people of New York already pay some of the highest tax rates in the United States in addition to congestion pricing, tolls, and fares…

Photograph ©2025 by Brian Cohen.