Drivers heading to New York City are preparing to pay a $9 congestion pricing toll if they enter Manhattan below 60th Street. There are some exemptions and discounts in place to help low-income drivers or those who use MTA-owned bridges and tunnels.

Starting on Jan. 4, the LIRR and Metro-North will allow monthly ticketholders to bring up to two passengers along for just $1 on weekends.

When it returns on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, there will be a lower toll than first proposed. Originally, drivers would have been charged $15 for entering the zone. Hochul said her initial opposition to the program was due to the high cost for working New Yorkers.

A series of legal challenges could derail New York City ’s long-awaited congestion pricing plan, which is scheduled to begin on January 5, report Chris Dolmetsch and Michelle Kaske in Bloomberg CityLab.

New York City congestion pricing cleared late legal challenges in Manhattan and Rockland County, keeping it on track to start Jan. 5, 2025​.

Drivers who come into the CRZ via the Holland and Lincoln tunnels will receive a $3 credit, while drivers who use the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel or Queens-Midtown Tunnel will receive a $1.50 in credit. Drivers who make under $50,000 per year will receive a 50% discount on the standard toll for all crossings after their first 10 trips each month.

A judge has refused to pump the brakes on the congestion pricing plan set to go into effect on Jan 5 in New York City.

The cash-strapped MTA wants to put the contentious toll program into effect before President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to kill the toll, takes office.