NYC Congestion Pricing: Is It Working? Explore the Traffic and Transit Data
An independent look at MTA open data, updated daily · Not affiliated with the MTA
How much is congestion pricing?
Rates from mta.info. The MTA also has an official toll calculator.
| Vehicle (with E-ZPass) | Peak | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Cars, SUVs, pickups and small vans | $9.00 | $2.25 |
| Motorcycles | $4.50 | $1.05 |
| Small trucks and some buses | $14.40 | $3.60 |
| Large trucks and tour buses | $21.60 | $5.40 |
| Uber, Lyft (per trip, paid by the rider) | $1.50 | $1.50 |
| Taxis and black cars (per trip) | $0.75 | $0.75 |
Peak hours: 5 AM – 9 PM on weekdays, 9 AM – 9 PM on weekends. Overnight is everything else, 75% cheaper. Cars and motorcycles pay once a day; trucks and buses pay each time they enter. At peak, entering through the Lincoln, Holland, Queens-Midtown or Hugh L. Carey tunnel takes off up to $3 for cars. Without E-ZPass you pay more. The car toll rises to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031.
Congestion pricing zone map
Manhattan south of and including 60th Street. The FDR Drive, the West Side Highway/Route 9A and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connections to West Street are not tolled. Dots are the 65 subway stations inside the zone.
When do vehicles enter the zone?
Average vehicles entering per hour, Aug 23, 2026 – Oct 17, 2026. Shaded hours are peak toll hours.
Traffic into the zone: 2026 vs 2025
Average vehicles entering the zone a day, by month (Oct 17, 2026 is the latest day, so its month is partial). The MTA compares traffic with a pre-tolling baseline on its Vehicle Reductions page, which stopped updating after December 2025.
This data alone can't answer that. About 473,965 vehicles a day entered the zone in 2026 (Jan 5 – Oct 17), 4.1% fewer than the 493,987 a day on the same days of 2025, the first year of tolling. Tolling began on January 5, 2025, so both periods had the toll: this shows how traffic changed in tolling's second year, not the effect of the toll itself. Traffic also moves with the economy, tourism, construction, weather and how often people work from home. For the change compared with traffic before tolling, see the MTA's own estimates.
Busiest bridges and tunnels into the zone
Jan 5 – Oct 17, 2026, compared with the same days of 2025.
| Entry | Vehicles a day | vs 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| East 60th St | 71,536 | -5.6% |
| FDR Drive at 60th St | 50,712 | -0.3% |
| Queens Midtown Tunnel | 42,996 | -3.7% |
| West Side Highway at 60th St | 42,916 | -1.8% |
| Holland Tunnel | 41,160 | -0.7% |
| Lincoln Tunnel | 40,641 | -11.8% |
| Williamsburg Bridge | 39,452 | -2.5% |
| West 60th St | 35,929 | -3.9% |
| Queensboro Bridge | 34,602 | -4.4% |
| Manhattan Bridge | 27,581 | -4.6% |
| Brooklyn Bridge | 25,683 | -6% |
| Hugh L. Carey Tunnel | 20,758 | -1.9% |
Who pays the toll?
Vehicle entries by type and toll period, Oct 18, 2025 – Oct 17, 2026.
Subway ridership inside the zone
Jan 5 – Oct 14, 2026 vs the same days of 2025. See every station on the NYC subway ridership page.
Subway ridership at the 65 stations inside the zone is up 4.7% on the same days of last year (1,531,644 riders a day), compared with up 1.8% at stations outside it. Both years had the toll, and ridership also depends on office attendance, tourism and service changes, so the gap between the two is not a measure of the toll's effect.
| Busiest stations in the zone | Riders a day | vs 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Times Sq-42 St/Port Authority Bus Terminal 1,2,3,7,A,C,E,N,Q,R,W,S | 133,901 | +1.4% |
| Grand Central-42 St 4,5,6,7,S | 103,384 | +4.7% |
| 34 St-Herald Sq B,D,F,M,N,Q,R,W | 73,512 | +3% |
| 14 St-Union Sq 4,5,6,L,N,Q,R,W | 68,008 | +2.8% |
| 34 St-Penn Station A,C,E | 59,471 | +8.6% |
| Fulton St 2,3,4,5,A,C,J,Z | 56,155 | -0.5% |
| 34 St-Penn Station 1,2,3 | 50,135 | +2% |
| 59 St-Columbus Circle 1,A,C,B,D | 48,162 | +2.6% |
| Lexington Av/51-53 Sts 6,E,F | 40,732 | +12.5% |
| Chambers St/WTC/Park Place/Cortlandt St 2,3,A,C,E,R,W | 40,321 | +4.9% |
How NYC compares with London and Stockholm
London: TfL. Stockholm: Transportstyrelsen.
| New York | London | Stockholm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Started | 2025 | 2003 | 2007 |
| Car charge | $9 a day at peak, $2.25 overnight | £18 a day (since Jan 2026) | Per crossing, up to 135 SEK a day |
| Hours | Every day; peak 5 AM – 9 PM weekdays, 9 AM – 9 PM weekends | 7 AM – 6 PM weekdays, 12 – 6 PM weekends | Weekdays only |
Congestion pricing questions
How much is congestion pricing in NYC?
With E-ZPass, cars pay $9 during peak hours and $2.25 overnight, once per day. Motorcycles pay $4.50 / $1.05, small trucks $14.40 / $3.60 and large trucks $21.60 / $5.40. Taxi riders pay $0.75 and Uber or Lyft riders $1.50 per trip. Drivers without E-ZPass pay more. Entering at peak through the Lincoln, Holland, Queens-Midtown or Hugh L. Carey tunnel gives a credit of up to $3 for cars.
What are the congestion pricing hours?
Peak toll hours are 5 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 9 PM on weekends. At all other times the overnight toll applies, 75% less than peak.
Where is the congestion pricing zone?
Manhattan south of and including 60th Street. The FDR Drive, the West Side Highway/Route 9A and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connections to West Street are not tolled.
Is congestion pricing working?
This data alone can't answer that. About 473,965 vehicles a day entered the zone in 2026 (Jan 5 – Oct 17), 4.1% fewer than the 493,987 a day on the same days of 2025, the first year of tolling. Tolling began on January 5, 2025, so both periods had the toll: this shows how traffic changed in tolling's second year, not the effect of the toll itself. Traffic also moves with the economy, tourism, construction, weather and how often people work from home. For the change compared with traffic before tolling, see the MTA's own estimates.
Which bridge or tunnel do most vehicles use to enter the zone?
The busiest way into the zone is East 60th St, with about 71,536 vehicles a day in 2026, followed by FDR Drive at 60th St (50,712).
Did congestion pricing change subway ridership?
Subway ridership at the 65 stations inside the zone is up 4.7% on the same days of last year (1,531,644 riders a day), compared with up 1.8% at stations outside it. Both years had the toll, and ridership also depends on office attendance, tourism and service changes, so the gap between the two is not a measure of the toll's effect.
Will the congestion pricing toll go up?
Yes. The MTA is phasing the toll in: the $9 peak toll for cars goes up to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031.
More NYC transit data
- NYC subway ridership: Busiest stations, find your station and an animated subway map, updated daily.
- Every subway line ranked: Which line is the worst? On-time rates, delays and a report card for each line.
- NYC bus routes ranked: The busiest, slowest and least reliable buses, with a report card for each route.
Let's talk about transit data
Found something surprising about your station? Have a question the data could answer, or an idea for what to dig into next (congestion pricing, a train line, an event)? I'd love to hear it, and I'm always up for talking about transit data.
Data: MTA Congestion Relief Zone Vehicle Entries and zone outline (data.ny.gov), through Oct 17, 2026. Updated Oct 28, 2026. Also see the MTA's congestion pricing dashboards.
Source code: github.com/MantieReid/mta-data-analysis · Analysis by Mantie Reid II (CC BY 4.0).