Congestion Pricing Hits a New Roadblock

SINCE 2019, NEW York has sought to establish the nation’s first congestion pricing zone, which would charge drivers fees for rush hour trips to improve traffic flows and raise funds for the city’s dilapidated subway system. That plan to toll drivers entering lower Manhattan’s gridlocked streets recently hit another roadblock: New Jersey.

- Christian Britschgi

Congestion pricing would provide important benefits to drivers themselves. Less gridlock means Manhattan’s roads can handle more cars. Faster travel speeds allow people with pressing errands to get where they need to be on time.

New Jersey officials, however, argue that congestion pricing is a thinly disguised “shakedown” of their suburban constituents who commute to Manhattan. They complain that New Jersey drivers heading to New York would be charged thousands of dollars a year to pay for trains they don’t use.