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MTA votes for $9 congestion charge in Manhattan starting

Jan. 5

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Governor Hochul revives NYC congestion pricing program

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Charge aims to fund mass transit, cut traffic by 17%

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(Adds more details in paragraphs 4-11, prior comment from

Trump)

By David Shepardson

Nov 18 (Reuters) - New York City's Metropolitan

Transportation Authority voted on Monday to implement a $9

congestion mitigation charge for driving in Manhattan starting

on Jan. 5, a move aimed at raising billions for mass transit and

cutting traffic.

The congestion charge, the first of its kind in the United

States, was revived last week by Governor Kathy Hochul after she

had put it on indefinite hold in June.

London implemented a similar fee in 2003, which is now 15

pounds ($19).

New York plans to charge a $9 toll during daytime hours for

passenger vehicles driving in Manhattan south of 60th Street

after scrapping an earlier plan to charge $15 that would have

started on June 30.

New York still requires a final approval from the U.S.

Transportation Department, which MTA hopes it can receive

quickly. There are still a number of court challenges pending.

The MTA said the toll will result in at least 80,000 fewer

vehicles entering the zone daily, "relieving crowding in what is

today the most congested district in the United States."

New York is racing to implement the charge before

President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump said last week

he strongly disagreed with the decision to implement the fee.

Hochul said the toll is crucial to making new investment in

subways and buses in New York, and that it will support $15

billion in debt financing for mass transit improvement.

Trucks and buses will pay up to $21.60, and there will be

75% discounts for traveling at night. The fee will be charged

once a day regardless of how many trips are made for car owners,

while taxis will pay 75 cents per trip in the Manhattan zone and

Uber ( UBER ) or Lyft ( LYFT ) vehicles reserved by app will pay

$1.50 per trip.

Drivers traveling on the highways that ring Manhattan in the

zone will not be charged.

The MTA has said the fee would cut traffic by 17%, improve

air quality, and increase mass transit use by 1% to 2%. In the

aftermath of the delay, the MTA said in June it was putting

$16.5 billion in capital projects on hold but will now move

forward with those projects.

New York has said that more than 700,000 vehicles enter the

Manhattan central business district daily, reducing travel

speeds to around 7 miles (11 km) per hour on average, which is

down 23% since 2010, MTA said.

($1 = 0.7891 pounds)