New York is en route to become the first city in the United States to toll downtown car trips.

On Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo announced that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) gave New York the green light to proceed with a shorter environmental review of its plan to toll drivers heading into Manhattan's central business district. 

“Congestion pricing is an internationally proven method to reduce traffic congestion, enhance the availability and reliability of public transportation, and improve our air quality, and it will play a critical role as New York and the nation begin to recover from the pandemic and build back stronger and better than before," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a press statement. "This advancement is also another step forward in generating the $15 billion the state needs to fund the MTA’s five-year $51.5 billion capital plan, which will transform the accessibility, reliability, and convenience of the system for users of all ages and abilities.”

The plan was first proposed in 2019, created as a means to help ease congestion and air pollution and to (above all) generate extra funds for the ailing subway system—that is, roughly $1 billion annually, which would be used to borrow the $15 billion Cuomo cites over four years.

While New York state legislators approved a conceptual plan in 2019, forward movements were bottlenecked at the federal level under the Trump Administration. The FHWA under Trump is alleged to have purposefully slowed the process by refusing to clarify the type of environmental statement the tolling system would require, despite the MTA's many inquiries. Because the roads had been built with federal dollars, city and state officials could not move ahead without a nod from the FHWA.

Under FHWA’s latest directive (now overseen by President Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg), the MTA can proceed with an “environmental assessment,” bypassing the more lengthy "Environmental Impact Statement." The process, which would otherwise take a year or more, is expected to now take as little as three months. 

“With this guidance on an environmental assessment now in hand, the MTA is ready to hit the ground running to implement the Central Business District Tolling Program,” said MTA Chairman Pat Foye in a statement. “We are already working on a preliminary design for the roadway toll system and infrastructure, and we look forward to working with our colleagues at the Federal Highway Administration to conduct the review and broad public outreach so that we can move forward with the remainder of the program as soon as possible.”

“Mass transit is the present and future of this city, and this day is long overdue,” added Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I thank President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, my fellow elected officials, and every advocate who called for a smarter approach to congestion and more reliable funding for our city’s subways and buses. New York City stands ready to get this program started and build a recovery for all of us.”

The new tolls are anticipated to fall somewhere between $10 and $15 for passenger cars entering the central business district below 60th Street. Vehicles using FDR Drive and the West Side Highway will not be subject, nor will those who live in the congestion zone or those who make less than $60,000 a year.

When the program was first announced it was expected to take effect in 2021. Now, it will likely not begin until 2023.