(The Center Square) — New Jersey’s leaders are blasting New York’s transit agency’s proposed charges for its congestion tolling plan, calling on the transit agency to provide a rebate or credit to New Jersey commuters.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Traffic Mobility Board is considering several options for congestion tolls when the program goes into effect this spring, but none of the scenarios would fully reimburse the cost of tolls for New Jersey commuters.
Gov. Phil Murphy said New Jersey drivers who pay a toll at Port Authority crossings should be exempt from congestion pricing, among other demands.
“This proposed tolling program remains a fundamentally flawed and unjust scheme to balance the MTA’s budget at the expense of hardworking New Jerseyans,” Murphy said in a statement. “We will continue to fight this unfair tolling program on behalf of our commuters and residents.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, called the proposed credits “a joke compared to what this will cost families every day.”
“New York’s newest Congestion Tax scenarios confirm our worst nightmare,” he said in a statement. “It will increase toxic, cancer-causing pollutants in North Jersey, cost Jersey commuters thousands of dollars more a year to drive into Manhattan, and lead to more truck and car traffic by the George Washington Bridge and Lincoln Tunnel.”
“The credits don’t even apply to the George Washington Bridge,” Gottheimer added. “How can we take these scenarios seriously when New York is already putting up toll cameras that will whack Jersey drivers?”
Under the congestion pricing plan, the MTA is authorized to charge some motorists a fee ranging from $9 to $23 to drive into Manhattan’s central business district.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul have defended the new pricing plan, approved by the state Legislature in 2019, saying it will help reduce the region’s traffic congestion and blunt the impact of climate change by reducing tailpipe pollution.
They say the fee will bring in about $1 billion annually that MTA will use as leverage to borrow more money for its $51 billion multi-year capital plan.
The transit agency also faces a potential $2.6 billion budget deficit in 2025 and is seeking more state funding to help reduce its projected shortfalls.
The MTA has also announced concessions to ease criticism of the plan, including a 25% discount for low-income commuters, or those making $50,000 annually, on-peak and off-peak tolls if they make at least 10 trips to the zone.
The board has also agreed on nighttime discounts for driving into the congestion pricing zone during off-peak hours. Commuter buses and some government vehicles will be exempted. The latest plans will also offer discounts for low-income commuters without transit access.
But the concessions have done little to win over New Jersey, which has filed a lawsuit alleging that federal agencies violated the National Environmental Protection Act, which requires environmental reviews for major projects, and the Clean Air Act, by giving a green light to the congestion pricing plan.
The tolling plans are also getting backlash from groups representing rideshare drivers, who already pay a $2.75 congestion fee to enter the city.
