A program to reduce pollution and traffic in New York City by charging tolls in high-traffic areas began in January 2025. That's a great idea on paper, but some locals really don't appreciate how it looks in practice.
If you've ever been to NYC, you know one of the main reasons the city never sleeps is because of the constant cacophony of traffic noise. According to INRIX, New York was the second-worst city on planet Earth in 2024 when it came to traffic delay times. Knowing that, it's easy to imagine how much pollution all that backed-up traffic emits.
In an effort to finally combat both traffic and the pollution it creates, NYC has instituted its Congestion Pricing Program. This initiative charges drivers a daily toll upon entering the "Congestion Relief Zone," which is anywhere below 60th Street in Manhattan.
The idea behind the program is that the threat of constant tolls will persuade drivers to consider other transportation options whenever possible. Those who must pay the tolls will be contributing to a fund intended to upgrade public transit in the city.
So far, so good, but a recent post on NextDoor exposed a flaw in the program that has some residents paying constant tolls for no discernible reason.
"I'm so Upset with this Congestion Pricing. It's just another way for this darn City to drain people of their hard earned money," they said. "I live in The Congestion Zone. So apparently I'm being charged just because."
"I'm not even home and they're charging me," they continued. "My Car has been parked uptown way above 60th street… I'm pissed."
It's fair to expect some hiccups with such a complex new program, but this is egregious. NYC is absurdly costly to live in; having money deducted from your account every day for no apparent reason might just be a miss-your-rent kind of problem.
The only real course of action for this person is to get in touch with the city and ask for an explanation. Unfortunately, they said right in the post that "trying to reach people on the phone about this is a lost cause."
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Definitely 👍 While there are still some kinks to work out with the program, the hope is it will decrease noise pollution and cut down on the amount of tailpipe pollution that residents are exposed to every day.
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