New York City’s congestion pricing increases foot traffic and helps businesses – Jalopnik

When New York City introduced congestion pricing earlier this year, critics almost immediately became enraged. They said the new fee is a full one nine dollars one day, an amount that could bankrupt the billionaires who make up the loudest complainers—hurt low-income New Yorkers, ruin the prospects of mom-and-pop businesses, and lead us straight into an era of endless crime and crime. waste on the ground. But, as is often the case, it turns out that these fears were overstated: Congestion pricing has led to an increase in foot traffic for businesses in Lower Manhattan.

A new report from the New York City Economic Development Corporation shows that congestion pricing has reduced car traffic to Lower Manhattan by 11%, which means about 10 million vehicles not entering the area, according to the EDC. But as car traffic fell, pedestrian traffic increased: the same report shows that 1.3% more workers entered the area than in 2024, and ‘leisure’ visits increased by 2.8%.

While we don’t have direct before-and-after comparisons of the exact dollar amounts each business has made in Lower Manhattan, the numbers we do have are clear: Congestion pricing is good for New York. It’s rare for a policy to so directly benefit workers, business owners, transit riders and motorists all at the same time, but that small nine-dollar fee has proven to be a net good on all sides. And, as far as I could tell, the amount of trash on the ground stayed exactly the same.