Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Putting Commuters First, Keeping Costs Down: Governor Hochul Unveils Plans for Future of Transit and Traffic in New York City, Including a 40 Percent Reduction in Congestion Pricing Tolls

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a plan to begin implementing congestion pricing in New York City by early January. In keeping with her promise to lower the cost of tolls from $15, the Governor’s plan features a 40 percent reduction in all tolls for vehicles entering the City’s Central Business District (CBD), saving commuters up to $1,500 per year. That plan also includes new tools to reduce congestion and air pollution in communities citywide – all of which will ensure that the plan achieves the goals of congestion pricing, including $15 billion in mass transit funding to support the MTA’s current Capital Program. Additionally, Governor Hochul committed to funding the proposed 2025-2029 MTA Capital Plan that was approved by the MTA Board in September – the largest capital plan for transit in New York State history.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page has photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Welcome. Welcome. First, let me acknowledge the members of my extraordinary cabinet and senior team, Karen Keogh, the Secretary to the Governor. Kathryn Garcia, our Director of State Operations. Stacy Lynch, the Chief of Staff. Blake Washington, our Budget Director. Brian Mahanna, our Counsel. And Anthony Hogrebe, our Communications Director. I want to applaud all of them for their incredible work.

And my incredible Commissioner of DOT, Marie Therese Dominguez, thank you for all you do for us. Jackie Bray, our Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. And of course, I want to thank Janno Lieber for his leadership at the MTA at a time when it is direly needed. So thank you to Janno Lieber as well.

A special thanks to my partner in state government, partners Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Carl Heastie and the members of the Senate and the Assembly. I'm grateful for all of them here today.

And of course, representation from the City of New York, Meera Joshi. I want to thank our Deputy Mayor for joining us here today as well, and New York City Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez as well. So, welcome to all of them.

And to all of our staunch advocates, our partners on the ground who were supportive during this process. From day one, I have made affordability for New York families a top priority. I always have, and I always will, fight to put more money in the pockets of everyday New Yorkers.

That's why back in June, I stood up on behalf of hardworking families and simply said no. No to a new $15 congestion toll that at that particular time was just too much. Too many people were worrying about high costs. Groceries, rent, child care. These are real challenges for our families and launching a toll that high really would have hurt a working mom or working dad trying to make ends meet. Especially someone driving in from a transportation desert, or far from outside the center of the city. As governor, it is my job to make decisions that take into account the needs of all working New Yorkers.

So I made the decision to put the congestion pricing program on pause, while we devise a different path forward. State law requires that congestion pricing simultaneously raise money for the MTA and drive down traffic congestion. These are important priorities, but I believe that no New Yorker should have to pay a penny more than absolutely necessary to achieve these goals. And $15 was too much.

And I'm proud to announce we have found a path to fund the MTA, reduce congestion, and keep millions of dollars in the pockets of our commuters. Under this plan, the MTA will implement a congestion pricing plan with a reduced daytime toll of $9 beginning in January. You heard that correctly.

It was $15 before, and now it is $9. That is a 40 percent reduction. This lower toll will save daily commuters nearly $1,500 annually. And that kind of money makes a big difference for our families. And there will be further discounts, for low income New Yorkers, car owners who make less than $50,000 a year will get a 50 percent discount on every toll after their 10th toll on the month.

In addition, after 9 p. m., the toll is discounted even further. This is to encourage nighttime deliveries in particular and help reduce congestion during the daytime hours. Here's the most critical part. This $9 daytime toll is enough to secure the $15 billion in MTA funding that congestion pricing was intended to support.

We're still getting the $15 billion to fund the MTA and drivers are paying $6 less. This lower toll will still allow us to accomplish all, and I mean all, of the goals of congestion pricing. New modern signals, the long awaited 2nd Avenue subway, new electric buses, elevators. And this will generate major investments for our suburban commuters as well, on top of the $800 million we've already invested to boost the LIRR service by 40 percent, and the work that Metro North is doing across Westchester, Dutchess, and Putnam Counties.

We'll also begin to drive down gridlock and the emissions as intended, and we'll deliver major environmental improvements for places like the Bronx. So that lower income communities will not only benefit from improved public transit service, but also cleaner air. And today, I'm directing the MTA to make major service enhancements to at least 23 bus routes in the outer boroughs. This would mean running buses more frequently along those routes.

Now, this is all an acknowledgement, as we know, that the MTA is absolutely vital for our region's economy. Without it, people can't get to work, children can't get to school – and our state would grind to a halt. Years and years of disinvestment and underinvestment in the MTA by previous administrations ends today.

Yes, it's hard; but that's also why I'm announcing my strong support for the MTA's 2025-2029 Capital Plan. To ignore the challenge of funding improvements to a hundred-year-old aging infrastructure would be nothing but an abdication of my duties as Governor. And I will not do that.

The Capital Plan will help fund projects that I launched, such as the Interborough Express. This project alone will save commuters between Brooklyn and Queens at least 30 minutes each way. It's a perfect example of our vision to build a safe, reliable, high performing transit system that New Yorkers deserve. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber will discuss more of the particulars of the Capital Plan in a moment.

And I'm directing you to tune into the MTA also to improve efficiencies, drive significant cost savings to protect New York taxpayers. And we'll continue to work closely with our federal, state legislators, and our city partners to close any gaps in our budget negotiations later in the year – just as we did last year when I structured a funding plan to keep the MTA from going off the fiscal cliff, yet another example of my strong commitment to public transit. And I'll continue insisting upon efficiencies and savings in the MTA in the years ahead.

Let me close with this. Congestion pricing is fundamentally about meeting three critical objectives. Ensuring our commuters can rely on safe subways and commuter trains now, and into the future, ensuring we can decongest our clogged streets. Improving the quality of life for residents, the safety of pedestrians and access for emergency vehicles. And ensuring we reduce vehicle emissions to enhance our air quality.

We know our downstate businesses and our economy depend on the MTA to transport more than six million commuters every single day. Safeguarding the long term viability of our subway and commuter rails, the safety of our streets, the health of our environment and the strength of our economy – these are all hard to do, but they're necessary.

And as New York City enters into a realm where no other American city has gone before, recall that the journey was first proposed decades ago. And this has been the law of our state for the last five years.

When I announced the pause, I spoke about working New Yorkers – hardworking New Yorkers. And I said I would fight to put as much money back in their pockets as I possibly could. Some skeptics predict we'd never find a path. There are lower tolls while still addressing congestion and the important funding of public transit that millions of New Yorkers rely on.

But that's exactly what we did. It was a challenge, but as a result New Yorkers will benefit from millions of dollars in reduced costs. That's my commitment to New Yorkers.

And I might not always take the easy path, but I'll always take the right path for the people of this great state – now and into the future.

Thank you.