NEW YORK — Five years after state lawmakers wrote congestion pricing into law, the board of the MTA voted Wednesday to approve the final tolling plan, setting a base toll of $15 to drive into Midtown and lower Manhattan.

“Big day for the MTA, huge day for the region,” agency Chairman Janno Lieber said Wednesday following the vote. “New York has more traffic than any place in the United States, and now we’re doing something about it.”

The pricing plan — the final MTA vote required before congestion pricing can be put into place — passed with 11 votes in favor.

David Mack, Nassau County’s representative to the board, was the lone opposing vote.

John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union and a nonvoting member of the board, was not present. The union boss, an early supporter of the congestion pricing plan, has since become a vocal critic.

Two voting members, city appointee Dan Garodnick and gubernatorial pick John-Ross Rizzo, were also absent.

Under the plan approved Wednesday, the toll to enter Midtown and lower Manhattan will be $15 for cars, vans, pickup trucks and other small vehicles — as long as they have E-ZPass.

Those motorists entering through an already-tolled crossing — the Holland, Lincoln, Battery or Midtown tunnels — will receive a $5 discount, making the congestion toll $10.

All drivers will receive a 75% discount off the regular toll overnight, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. That means that during those hours, the fee for cars will drop from $15 down to $3.75. But during those hours, the $5 tunnel discount will not apply.

The discounts and base tolls will scale depending on the size of the vehicle. Motorcyclists’ base toll will be $7.50, and their tunnel-crossing credit will be $2.50.

...continued

©2024 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.