New York becomes first US city with congestion charge

The first congestion charge scheme for vehicles in the US is being introduced in New York City on Sunday.

Car drivers will pay up to $9 (£7) a day, with varying rates for other vehicles.

The congestion zone covers an area south of central park, taking in well known sites such as the Empire State Building, Times Square and the financial district around Wall Street

The scheme aims to ease New York’s notorious traffic problems and raise billions for the public transport network, but has faced resistance, including from famous New Yorker and President-elect Donald Trump.

A congestion charge was first promoted by New York state Governor Kathy Hochul two years ago, but it was delayed and revised following complaints from some commuters and businesses.

The new plan revives one scheme that she paused in June, saying there were “too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers”.

Most drivers will be charged $9 once per day to enter the congestion zone at peak hours, and $2.25 at other times.

Small trucks and non-commuter buses will pay $14.40 to enter Manhattan at peak times, while larger trucks and tourist buses will pay a $21.60 fee.

The charge has been met with plenty of opposition, including from taxi drivers’ associations.

But its most high-profile opposition has come from Trump, a native New Yorker who has vowed to kill the scheme when he returns to office this month.

Local Republicans have already asked him to intervene.

Congressman Mike Lawler, who represents a suburban district just north of New York City, asked Trump in November to commit to “ending this absurd congestion pricing cash grab once and for all”.

A judge denied an eleventh-hour effort Friday by neighbouring New Jersey state officials to block the scheme on grounds of its environmental impact on adjoining areas.

Last year, New York City was named the world’s most-congested urban area for the second year in a row, according to INRIX, a traffic-data analysis firm.

Vehicles in downtown Manhattan drove at a speed of 11 mph/h (17 km/h) during peak morning periods in the first quarter of last year, the report said.