5 ways NYC’s public transit will get better thanks to congestion pricing

Studies have shown that New York is the worst city for drivers, and it's about to get even more maddening for motorists, what with the recent congestion pricing program planned to prevent drivers from clogging up midtown Manhattan, which would reportedly charge drivers up to $23 for a rush-hour trip onto the island south of 60th Street.

“Congestion has clogged Manhattan streets for decades, with approximately 700,000 vehicles, pre-pandemic, entering the [central business district] daily,” reports the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council. 

But while the new congestion tolls, which were federally approved in June and follow similar programs in major cities like London, Singapore and Stockholm, may seem a burden to drivers, they might just be a boon to NYC subway riders. The money collected from the tolls—at least one billion dollars a year, as required by state law—will filter directly into funding improvements on mass transit. 

Such transit improvements include: 

1. Extending the Second Avenue Subway extension, which will introduce three new stops in East Harlem
2. Accessibility additions, including more elevators, escalators and ramps throughout 70 subway stations and 12 Long Island Rail Road stations
3. Modernizing the electronic signals that keep trains moving safely and efficiently, allowing more trains to run closer together on the B, D, F, M, A, C, E, F and G lines and thereby lessening wait times for riders. 
4. The introduction of more electric buses to the city's fleet, to meet the state's goal of having an all-electric bus fleet by 2040
5. The completion of the MTA's Penn Access project, an extension of Metro-North Railroad‘s New Haven Line to reach Penn Station, which "will create four new accessible stations, improve existing tracks and bridges, and will cut travel times from the Bronx to Manhattan by as much as 50 minutes," per the MTA. 

And while there has been uproar over the congestion toll, especially from our neighbors over in New Jersey, New York State will allow for some exemptions for local drivers. Vehicles carrying people with disabilities and authorized emergency vehicles won’t pay congestion pricing, and residents whose income is less than $60,000 will also be eligible for a state tax credit equal to the amount of their tolls, according to the MTA.