MTA touts first week of NYC congestion pricing plan — but do their numbers back it up?

The MTA on Monday touted the first week of the controversial state-imposed congestion pricing plan in Midtown Manhattan — but critics say the agency’s math is way “fuzzy.”

Transit agency officials said “anecdotal reports” show traffic is moving more smoothly in the congestion zone, commuting times are down and more New Yorkers are hopping on city buses thanks to the new $9 toll per car that kicked in on Jan. 5, although their numbers don’t exactly make the case.

“The MTA math is more than fuzzy — it’s fugazi,” city Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) quipped Monday. “I believe in their mathematical skills as much as I believed in their timeline for the Second Avenue subway.”

MTA officials told reporters travel times on inbound bridges was down as much as 40% over the first week of the plan, while traffic south of 61st Street dipped by 16% from October and 7.5% — or 273,000 fewer cars compared to a snapshot of the same time span last year.

The MTA said Monday that traffic is down and bus ridership is up over 7.5% one week into congestion pricing. AP

For example, the agency said the SIM24 saved seven minutes getting across the Lincoln Tunnel compared to last year, and the B39 bus got across the Williamsburg Bridge 3.9 minutes faster.

“I think it’s obvious to everybody here that it has been a very good week here in New York,” MTA Deputy Chief of Policy ad External Relations Juliette Michaelson told reporters Monday.

“Just look out the window. There is less traffic and quicker streets. I think everybody can see it.”

Well, not everybody.

The state-imposed congestion pricing plan kicked in on Jan. 5, and the MTA says it’s paid immediate dividends Monday. Gordon Donovan/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

“The champagne popping is premature,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella told The Post. “People will do what they can to avoid paying the $9 toll.”

Susan Lee, leader of the group New Yorkers Against Congestion Taxes, noted that the MTA analysis overlooks some pretty obvious facts.

“January is usually the slowest month of the year,” said Lee, a Tribeca resident. “While some areas experience less traffic, others have seen higher than average congestion due to drivers avoiding paying the congestion pricing tax. The MTA should be careful what they’re celebrating.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said the MTA omitted another vital stat.

Mayor Eric Adams said he’d like precise numbers on congestion pricing, but noted it wasn’t his idea. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post

“The claim is outrageous because anybody with common sense could figure out that a 16% reduction in traffic equates to 16% less people buying a cup of coffee, getting a meal, shopping and creating economic activity,” Blakeman said. “It’s a tax on hardworking families that live in and commute to lower Manhattan.”

Mayor Eric Adams noted at a briefing that the congestion pricing plan didn’t come from City Hall — but New Yorkers and Big Apple commuters are stuck dealing with it.

“I think in order to be precise we need precise numbers,” the mayor said of the MTA briefing. “I was just allowing the process to play out.

“It’s the law of the land right now and the worst thing I can do is throw more hysteria into this law of the land, particularly [when] I don’t have any control over [it],” he said. “We’re a creature of Albany. Albany made the decision. The MTA made the decision.”

Critics say the congestion pricing plan will just keep more people out of Manhattan and hurt the city economy. Michael Nagle

Meanwhile, former longtime US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, who lives in Island Park, said the state’s congestion pricing plan will ultimately drive folks out of the Big Apple.

“This is nothing to celebrate,” he said. “It’s not good. It’s bad.”.