Policy · Congestion pricing, in force since January 5, 2025

Did congestion pricing speed up buses? Yes, by about 3.5%.

In 2025, the toll's first year, buses ran 2.5% faster inside Manhattan's congestion zone than in 2024, while the same routes slowed 1% outside it. That gap of 3.5% takes about a minute off a 30-minute bus ride in the zone.

Faster inside the zone, slower outside it

Average weekday speed, 6 am to 8 pm, of the bus routes that run both inside the zone and outside it (mostly express buses), before and after pricing. The dashed line shows where buses in the zone would have ended up had they changed like the outside.

First year of pricing

2025 against 2024

2026 so far

January–August 2026 against the same months of 2024

Buses kept the gain; cars didn't. In 2026 buses in the zone are still about 2.4% faster than the same routes outside it. Taxis and Ubers, which ran about 2% faster than uptown Manhattan in 2025, are back level with it so far in 2026 (−1%, within the margin of error; TLC trip records). Bus lanes and enforcement are what keep a bus moving once traffic creeps back.

Which streets got faster

Madison Av and the 42 St and 23 St crosstowns gained about 6% and held it in 2026. 3 Av, 6 Av and E 23 St gained 4–5%, then gave most of it back. Lexington Av got slower, and slower again in 2026.

Change in bus speed on each street inside the zone, minus the change on the same routes outside it. Streets with at least two measured stretches and 5,000 bus-miles in 2024. Hudson St and Pearl St are left out: their buses had an unusual 2024, so their numbers say little about pricing.

Is this real?

If something other than the toll made buses in the zone faster, it might have shown up before the toll too. It didn't: in 2024, buses in the zone did slightly worse than the same routes outside (−0.5%).

Difference between the change inside the zone and the change outside, with 95% intervals. The bar for 2024 is the test: a year with no toll should show about zero, and it does.

How we tested it

Each bus route is compared with itself. The MTA splits every route's miles and hours into the part inside the zone (Manhattan below 60 St) and the part outside. Whatever changed for the whole route, such as new buses, schedules or weather, shows up on both sides and cancels out.

  • Route by routeFor each route and month, the change in speed inside the zone against the same month a year before, minus the same change outside. Averaged over 99 routes, weighted by miles in the zone. Weekdays, 6 am to 8 pm. The 95% intervals come from resampling routes.
  • The speeds in the chartMiles over hours for each route and month, averaged with the same weights, so their changes match the headline numbers.
  • Street by streetThe MTA's bus speeds between timepoint stops. A stretch counts for a street when both its stops are on that street and inside the zone. Each stretch is compared with its own route outside the zone.
  • The test yearThe same comparison for 2024 against 2023, before the toll. It should show nothing, and it shows −0.5%.

Caveats: the stop-to-stop check shows streets fully inside the zone were already falling behind in 2024 (−1.9%), so part of 2025's gain is likely recovery from a weak year. That check also gives smaller numbers (+2.8% for 2025, +1.9% for 2026), since it weights routes differently. Most routes in the main comparison are express buses; their Manhattan stretch is the part in the zone. Speed includes time at stops and lights. If the toll also changed traffic outside the zone, every number here would be off by that much.