Most drivers will pay $15 to enter busiest part of Manhattan starting June 30

NEW YORK — The start date for the $15 toll that most drivers must pay to enter Manhattan’s central business district is June 30, transit officials said Friday.

Under the so-called congestion pricing plan, the $15 fee will apply to most drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street during the day. The toll will be higher for larger vehicles and lower for night-time access to the city and for motorcycles.

The program, which was approved by the New York State Legislature in 2019, would raise $1 billion a year to fund public transportation for the city’s 4 million daily passengers.

“More than 90 percent of people come to the congestion zone, the central business district, walking, biking and especially using public transportation,” Janno Lieber, CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, told WABC. “We are a public transportation city and that’s what we are. it will make being in New York even better.

Advocates say congestion pricing will not only raise money for buses and subways, but will also reduce pollution, discouraging driving into Manhattan. Opponents say the charges will burden commuters and raise the prices of basic goods trucked into the city.

The state of New Jersey has filed a lawsuit over the congestion pricing plan, the first such program in the United States.

Lieber said he is “pretty optimistic” about how the New Jersey lawsuit will be resolved.

Congestion pricing will begin at 12:01 a.m. June 30, Lieber said, so the first drivers will be charged the $3.75 overnight surcharge. The $15 toll goes into effect at 9am

Low-income drivers can apply for a congestion toll discount on the MTA website, and people with disabilities can apply for exemptions.