NYC congestion pricing revenue in February higher than expected, MTA says

Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News on Mar 24, 2025

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NEW YORK — Congestion pricing in Manhattan generated more revenue than anticipated during the second month of tolling, data released by the MTA Monday shows.

The toll — which charges most drivers $9 per day to drive on surface streets in Midtown and lower Manhattan — generated $51.9 million in gross revenue in February, $2.3 million more than the $49.6 million the MTA had budgeted.

At the same time, for the second month in a row, the program cost less to administer than had been budgeted — $11.5 million, down more than $5 million from a projected cost of $16.6 million.

Net revenue for the month of January is $40.4 million — up from the $37.5 million net revenue raised by the toll in January.

MTA co-CFO Jai Patel said Monday that the revenue report was good news for the agency, which intends to raise $500 million a year from the toll. That money will, in turn, be used to back $15 billion in bonds earmarked for specific MTA capital projects.

“We’re on track to deliver $500 million of net operating revenue from congestion pricing,” Patel told the MTA’s board.

Two-thirds of the revenue reported Monday was raised by passenger vehicles — the ordinary cars, pickups and SUVs whose drivers pay the $9 toll. Taxis, Ubers and Lyfts — which pass the toll on to their passengers as a per-trip surcharge — made up 24% of the February revenue. Trucks, which pay a greater toll depending on their size contributed to 9% of the revenue, and buses and motorcycles were responsible for 1%.

The revenue report comes less than a week after President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, extended his arbitrary “deadline” for New York to end the toll, which began in January after years of environmental reviews and legal approvals.

Gov. Kathy Hochul reiterated last week that she intends to keep the toll running. The feds have yet to respond to a suit filed by the MTA calling Duffy’s order unconstitutional.