Until last month, U.S. commuting policy favored half-measures and incremental tweaks to address a scourge of urban America: traffic congestion. Evidence of poor policy was pronounced in NYC, where past political leadership managed to transform the “city that never sleeps” into the “city that barely moves.” This all changed on Jan. 5 when our nation’s most vibrant city implemented congestion pricing via a $9 toll to travel into most of Manhattan.
At its core, our economy runs on supply and demand. No one blinks an eye at higher prices for premium movie times, convenience store sundries, or Super Bowl tickets. Yet, an odd cultural quirk prevents us from thinking about rush-hour road space as a scarce good. Only three ways exist to satisfy demand for scarce goods: political allocation to favorites, queuing, or pricing.
When it comes to our roads, the U.S. has relied on queuing, forcing drivers to join twice-daily, interminable lines of rush-hour traffic. Not only is this approach economically inefficient and unpredictable — it is soul sucking. Thankfully, NYC avoided just trying to manage needless congestion; NYC used pricing to eliminate it.
I was delighted to witness the disappearance of Midtown gridlock during a recent visit. My Uber from LaGuardia Airport to Midtown (not far from Trump Tower) took 29 minutes, about two-thirds the usual time. The lack of congestion revealed a city more open and navigable.
I was particularly gratified to observe the results of congestion pricing because I have advocated the project since 2007, when serving as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation. At that time, Mayor Mike Bloomberg had successfully won a $354 million award under a program designed by then-Secretary Mary Peters and Undersecretary Tyler Duvall.
The award would have jumpstarted the nation’s first cordon pricing project — a type of congestion pricing that charges drivers for crossing between city zones. While the state Assembly derailed that initial plan, forfeiting the grant, the push for a practical remedy to gridlock never died.
Over the first three weeks of implementation, the project has exhibited marked success. Aligning with my visit, preliminary data shows cordon pricing has reduced congestion, enabling shorter and more enjoyable travel. Suburban commuters are saving 20-30 minutes and weekday Midtown speeds are up 9% (30% on weekends).
Congestion relief is accompanied by a number of other benefits. Compared to the same three-week period in 2024, automobile crashes are down an astounding 69%. Contrary to fears that businesses would suffer, Theater District attendance is up by 20%.
Public transit ridership, appreciably reduced across the nation, has exhibited a noticeable uptick. Compared to the same time last year, express bus ridership is up 5.8%, subways are up 7.3% (12% on weekends), and the LIRR is up 19%. Bus operators have described the experience of cordon pricing as “sailing through the tunnels.”
Notwithstanding these benefits, opponents are lining up with seemingly sensible but unsupported objections. Some worry reduced traffic might dampen business activity. Happily, more efficient commuting has bolstered rather than stifled commerce.
Others have suggested that pollution from congestion may simply be diverted to non-tolled neighborhoods, an analysis seemingly ignoring a decrease of 1.4 million vehicles traveling into the central business district last month.
Finally, some have raised equity concerns, worried the project might disproportionately affect low-income drivers. In addition to low-income discount plans, it is important to appreciate the broader picture: diminished congestion has enabled more efficient public transit, benefiting all commuters, especially those with fewer alternatives.
Among the project’s skeptics, President Trump and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy have raised concerns about the program’s potential impact. Unlike most infrastructure debates, this one does not require speculation. Congestion pricing in New York is already up and running. Rather than preemptively declaring failure, we should take the rare opportunity to evaluate actual results. Give it one year — then, if necessary, adjust.
NYC’s pricing experiment suggests that treating road space as a scarce commodity yields dividends for everyone. NYC has turned what was once a soul-sapping quagmire into an efficient, dynamic, and more popular urban asset. If we are serious about modernizing urban transportation and unleashing the full potential of our cities, congestion pricing is not just a clever fix — it’s the only fix.
Ultimately, this is about putting common sense back in the driver’s seat.
Gribbin is a national expert on transportation policy and served in the White House as the special assistant to the president for infrastructure policy in the first Trump administration.