Hochul to make $9 congestion pricing toll announcement Thursday

Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to announce the official relaunch of congestion pricing with a $9 price tag, according to people briefed on the plan. A spokesperson for the governor confirmed that she would make an announcement on Thursday, though he did not offer specifics.

According to one source with knowledge, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is set to vote on the new plan at its next meeting on Nov. 20. MTA officials were also expected to brief advocates Wednesday afternoon.

Carlo Scissura, president of the New York Building Congress and staunch congestion pricing supporter, said that members of the governor’s staff reached out to discuss the compromise to turn congestion pricing back on. He confirmed the fact that the governor pitched a $9 toll with a plan to gradually increase the price over several years. That’s down from the $15 from the original plan that Hochul paused in June. “The governor did the right thing, we applaud her leadership,” Scissura told City & State. “We are very excited to get this moving. And the bottom line is, let’s turn the switches on.” He said that while the $9 price tag may not initially hit the $1 billion-a-year revenue that congestion pricing is meant to produce for the MTA, he said his understanding of the plan is to gradually increase the toll to work up to that revenue point – and that the most important part now is to get the program underway. 

Politico New York first reported last week that Hochul was seriously discussing turning congestion pricing on before the end of the year at the new price tag, and Gothamist reported Wednesday that Hochul’s announcement was imminent. 

Hochul had begun reaching out to state lawmakers about her plan last week, according to people with knowledge. One source said that the toll would specifically increase to $12 to enter the central business district in Manhattan south of 60th Street over the next two or three years.

A spokesperson for the governor did not confirm the details of the plan, but in a statement said that Hochul would make an announcement related to congestion pricing on Thursday. “Governor Hochul paused congestion pricing because a daily $15 toll was too much for hard-working New Yorkers in this economic climate,” spokesperson Avi Small said. “Tomorrow, the Governor will announce the path forward to fund mass transit, unclog our streets and improve public health by reducing air pollution."

Including Scissura, other proponents of congestion pricing praised the move Wednesday afternoon. “In this new era, New York leaders must govern with more courage than ever before,” said Riders Alliance CEO Betsy Plum. “If she moves forward, Governor Hochul will demonstrate the kind of leadership that we will need in abundance and which riders will continue to demand from her." She added that “we will finally breathe easier” after the first tolls are collected. 

Congestion pricing still faces bipartisan opposition, and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is angling to run for governor in 2026, recently sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump asking him to kill congestion pricing at the federal level. “I've long said that Governor Kathy Hochul is the worst Governor in America, and her crusade to force her congestion pricing cash grab on hard-working New Yorkers is just the latest example of her ineptitude,” Lawler wrote on X following reporting on the imminent announcement.