Congestion pricing in NYC timeline: How we got here
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The year was 1959 and a Columbia professor named William Vickrey had an idea: Equip every car with a transponder, monitor when they enter a congested area, and then bill the car's owner.
The fees would be highest during rush hour and lower in off-peak hours.
Sound familiar?
Professor Vickrey spent the next three decades pushing this idea of congestion pricing but with little support.
In 1996, he won the Nobel Prize in Economics --- something that would give him a greater platform to promote his plan, but he tragically died three days later.
Fast forward 11 years to 2007 when then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the case for congestion pricing.
"The question is not whether we want to pay, but how do we want to pay? With an increased asthma rate? With more greenhouse gas? Wasted time? Lost business and wages? Or do we charge a modest fee to encourage more people to take mass transit?" Bloomberg said.
At the time, that "modest" fee was $8 for cars driving south of 86th Street on weekdays.
The plan was approved by the city council and endorsed by then Governor David Paterson, but could not clear one final roadblock - the New York State Assembly.
The next stop on the road to congestion pricing came in 2017 when Governor Andrew Cuomo began drafting a plan to fix the city's subways.
"We have to pass a dedicated funding stream so the MTA has the funding it needs. Congestion pricing is the only alternative," he said.
The plan was passed as part of the state budget in April 2019, but then more speed bumps.
The federal government had to approve the proposal and the relationship between Cuomo and then President Trump was not exactly great.
The pandemic then hit and congestion pricing was once again stalled until two things changed.
First, Joe Biden became president and post-pandemic New Yorkers began returning to the office.
The administration permitted the MTA to conduct an environmental assessment of the plan.
After that was completed, more than 400 questions about the proposal were answered.
A landmark day was June 26, 2023.
The Federal Highway Administration gave the controversial proposal its final approval. That meant the MTA could start building the tolling infrastructure, which would take about a year.
With the infrastructure in place and a series of combative public hearings complete, the only thing left was an MTA board vote to approve the plan.
Once that happened, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber announced live on Eyewitness News that congestion pricing would officially begin on Sunday, June 30.
Despite the announcement, potential roadblocks exist. Multiple lawsuits are looking to stop congestion pricing before it begins.
Most recently, the Trucking Association of New York filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority arguing the higher fees unfairly and unconstitutionally target the trucking industry.
The trucking association's lawsuit is among at least eight seeking to block the congestion fee plan before the scheduled launch on June 30.
A Manhattan federal court judge has heard arguments in lawsuits brought by unionized public school teachers, politicians and other New Yorkers.
In New Jersey, a federal court judge has also heard arguments in legal challenges brought by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and others.
Many of those lawsuits argue the plan was approved by federal transportation officials without proper scrutiny and the court should order transit officials to conduct a more comprehensive environmental study before rolling out the plan.
Both judges have not yet ruled in the cases.
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