Six months later. What has changed in New York after the introduction of a toll for downtown?

Fewer cars. Less noise. Faster transit. The New York Times Magazine gathered the experiences of traffic participants from firefighters to bus drivers to restaurant operators. Unlike other changes in the functioning of the city, which can take a long time to manifest, traffic patterns in downtown New York changed almost immediately after the toll went into effect on January 5, 2025.

The $9 toll has changed commuter behavior, the speed of public transportation, even the sound of traffic jams and the punctuality of school buses. And the measure appears to be achieving its two main goals: reducing traffic congestion and raising funds for public transportation improvements. By March 2025, the toll had generated $45 million in net revenue, which could be about $500 million a year.

The toll for downtown New York City was designed to fund more than $15 billion in key transportation infrastructure upgrades. While the investment will take years, the significant changes on the streets are already visible. What are they?

Fewer cars now entering the toll zone

It was expected that many people would decide to stop driving into downtown Manhattan because of the toll. And so far, that seems to be happening. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) estimates that about 76,000 fewer vehicles entered Manhattan’s central business district — the toll zone — in April than they would have without the toll. That’s 2.3 million fewer vehicles per month, which is still 12% less than expected based on historical traffic trends.

Traffic speeds have increased

As people began to return to their offices after the pandemic, average speeds inside the now-toll zone have been falling since 2021. But that trend has reversed since January of this year, according to the New York City Department of Transportation, as well as an analysis by researchers at Stanford, Yale, and Google. They examined anonymized and aggregated data from trips made using Google Maps and found that the average speed of traffic within the zone increased by 15% in the first two months after the toll was introduced.

Most during rush hour

The speed improvement is most noticeable during the busiest times, i.e. during the afternoon rush hour on weekdays. A Google study found a similar trend, but with an even more pronounced effect in the first two months after the toll was introduced — traffic speeds within the toll zone increased by more than 20% during the afternoon rush hour on weekdays (from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.).

The New York subway is the alpha and omega of transportation

Public transport buses also travel faster

Bus speeds increased by about 3.2% from January to March compared to last year — on sections of local lines that pass through the toll zone. The improvement was noted on almost all local routes that touch this zone. A similar change was also noted on long-distance bus lines that pass through the toll zone.

There was no slowdown in traffic beyond the toll zone

One of the main objections and concerns about charging for entrance was that it would improve traffic inside the zone, but only by moving cars and congestion elsewhere. According to the Department of Transportation, this did not happen, and speeds in the surrounding neighborhoods — north of 60th Street in Manhattan and also across the river in Brooklyn and Queens, are, like in the rest of the city — stable or slightly higher than last year, depending on the time of day. Despite apocalyptic predictions, traffic did not collapse in New Jersey and the South Bronx.

Ridership on all types of public transportation is up

More people are riding public transportation, including the subway and buses, since the tolls were introduced. Ridership has also increased on the Long Island Rail Road, the Staten Island Railway, and the Metro-North commuter lines that serve the northern suburbs and parts of Connecticut. The Trump administration has used several high-profile crime incidents to paint mass transit as dangerous. In reality, however, crime on the subway is declining. According to police data, crime on the subway fell to its second-lowest level in 27 years in the first three months of 2025, with major crime categories down 18 percent.

More taxis in toll zone, more cyclists across the city

Taxi trips that start or end in toll zones have increased this year — about eight million in the first three months of the year, compared to about seven million in the same period last year. Many in the industry feared that the increased costs would be a deterrent. But that hasn’t happened yet. While bike rides (including shared rides) in the zone have increased, so has the city as a whole. Given the time of year, it’s probably too early to draw conclusions about the toll’s impact on cycling.

Illegally parked cars, accidents and injuries have decreased

With fewer cars in toll zones, accidents and injuries have also decreased. According to police, the number of accidents is 14% lower than last year, and the number of injuries is 15%. The number of cars parked illegally in the zone decreased by 4%.

Firefighters’ travel times have decreased

The average time it takes for fire crews to respond to traffic-jammed fires fell about 3 percent from January to March of this year compared to the same period last year, according to fire department data. In the rest of New York, the time increased by less than 1 percent. Again, it’s too early to say that the speeding up inside the zone is a result of the toll. Travel times can vary from year to year, and fire department officials say response times to fires are improving.

The city is trying to be as pedestrian-friendly as possible

Buses Run on Schedule, Students Arrive on Time

The question on the minds of commuters is: Will the bus arrive on schedule? According to MTA data, more bus routes are now running without delays in the toll zone. The school bus company, NYC School Bus Umbrella Services (NYCSBUS), found that compared to last year, the percentage of buses arriving late to schools decreased more inside the toll zone than outside. The company calculated that this reduction in delays inside the zone means that students transported by bus get an average of more than 30 minutes of extra instruction per week. NYCSBUS is contracted with the city to operate about 10 percent of New York City’s school-age bus routes, so its numbers don’t cover all school buses in the zone, but they do represent a good sample.

Downtown is not depopulating

Critics have worried that the toll would deter tourists and hurt local businesses. There’s little evidence of that yet, though some businesses report a decline in international tourism and tariffs are starting to take their toll. Just over 50 million people visited the business district inside the zone in March, up 3.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (its estimate tries to exclude people who work or live in the area). And according to the Times Square Alliance, the number of pedestrians in Times Square through April 22 was nearly identical—about 21.5 million people—to the same period last year.

Business is Not Fading

Broadway theater occupancy is essentially flat compared to last year, even after accounting for the increased number of shows this year. Online reservations for local restaurants through Open Table were up about 7 percent through April 22 compared to last year, according to the company. That’s similar to the trend across the city, according to the company. And The New York Times visited 40 stores on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village to see how businesses are reacting to the entrance fee. People working at four of those businesses said the change was positive, 10 said it was negative—and 25 said it had no impact. These are just a cross-section of the Manhattan economy, and it’s not hard to find individual business owners who feel the congestion pricing has made things worse. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Public Acceptance

The downtown toll was relatively unpopular in opinion polls just before it was launched. But its supporters expected its popularity to grow as people saw and experienced its benefits. It’s too early to draw such conclusions, though. But some signs suggest that the measure’s popularity is growing (or at least that many New Yorkers are not happy with President Trump’s efforts to repeal it). For example, a Siena College poll in December found that only 32% of New York voters supported the program (29% statewide). But by March, 42% said it should remain in place (compared to 33% statewide). The latest poll from Marist in early April also found that 42% of city voters wanted the toll to remain.

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