The MTA is touting positive new congestion pricing data after the second week of the tolling program.

Using 583,000 vehicles as a baseline for an average weekday in January over the prior three years, last week Monday through Friday, there was a 4.5% drop in vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street, including the FDR Drive and West Side Highway — roads excluded from the tolls.

What You Need To Know

  • Based on an average weekday in January baseline of 583,000 vehicle entries below 60th Street — including the FDR Drive and West Side Highway, which are excluded from the toll —the MTA says for the second workweek of congestion pricing, vehicle entries dropped about 4.5%

  • If you take out the excluded roadways to look at just the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) cnumbers — the streets that are actually tolled —  it's a drop of 15.5%

  • The NYPD says traffic crashes were down from Jan. 13-19. There were 11 fewer crashes in the Midtown South patrol borough, which encompasses much of the CRZ
  • Some lawmakers are still urging President Trump to find a way to pull the plug, and Gov. Phil Murphy plans on amending New Jersey's lawsuit to stop the toll

Taking out those excluded roads to look at just the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) numbers — the streets that are actually tolled — it’s even better, a 15.5% decrease compared to the baseline.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber says he’s encouraged by the numbers, but even moreso by the stories he’s hearing from people.

“We’re starting to learn and get more data, but the main thing is: everybody’s lived experience is the same! Traffic in midtown is dramatically down, and it’s a much calmer environment,” Lieber said. “We actually got data yesterday that there are fewer traffic collisions, fewer are being injured, God forbid, killed in traffic crashes. It’s good news all around, but we need to watch how it is unfolding.”

Lieber was referencing data that shows from Jan. 13-19, there were 17 motor vehicle collisions in the area of the Manhattan South patrol borough — roughly the area of the CRZ. There were 28 during the same period last year, according to the NYPD.

While the streets seem quieter and commute times are faster, even on some Staten Island express buses, not everyone has been won over.

“There may be less congestion in the congestion pricing zones, but we’ve seen an uptick in traffic outside of those zones, especially in the outer boroughs trying to get in,” Queens Republican Councilwoman Joanne Ariola said. “I go into Manhattan three days a week for hearings and stated meetings, and it’s taking me much longer and my colleagues much longer because we’re taking alternate routes.”

Efforts also continue to try to stop the program. Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis and a bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote a letter to the president asking him to find a way to shut it down.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy plans on amending New Jersey’s lawsuit against the program, and it’s unclear what will happen if it ends up back in a courtroom, including whether the Federal Highway Administration will continue to defend it.