New York becomes the first US city to introduce congestion charging.

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New York on Sunday became the first US city to launch a congestion charge zone after a controversial plan aimed at easing traffic and raising billions of dollars for local transit has faced years of delays and legal challenges.

Drivers entering some of Manhattan’s busiest neighborhoods during peak hours face a $9 congestion charge. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced early Sunday that the congestion relief zone, which stretches from the foot of Central Park to the southern tip of Manhattan, is fully operational.

The plan was put on hold by the governor of New York Kathy Hochul It is expected to reduce the number of vehicles entering the zone by 10 per cent each day before it is renewed at a cost of $15 less than it was in June last year. It also helps raise $15 billion for the MTA for public transit projects.

“We’ve been working on this for five years, but you stand in midtown for five minutes and you know we need to talk,” MTA Chairman Jano Lieber said at an event hours before the new plan’s launch. with traffic problems. Now, in New York, we are showing the world that we are doing something about our challenges.

As New Yorkers grapple with a jump in the cost of living, an increase in driver’s license charges in November could hurt some Democratic candidates on the ballot. Fearing that, he stopped the plan at first.

A last-ditch effort in New Jersey to block the plan in federal courts, seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages for environmental damage caused by traffic congestion across the Hudson River, has collapsed. But the judge said the Federal Highway Administration should comment on the plan.

However, the plan still has an uncertain future. Republicans have been pushing President-elect Donald Trump to rescind federal authorization for the program, while some GOP lawmakers have called for new laws to ban crowdfunding.

Under New York’s plan, the peak-to-peak toll would drop to $2.25 for drivers traveling between 9 a.m. and 5 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends. Small trucks pay $14.40 during peak hours to enter Manhattan, while larger vehicles pay $21.60.

Last year, New York was named the world’s most congested city by traffic tracking platform Enrix, with drivers spending an average of 101 hours a year in traffic and costing the local economy $9.1 billion.