Here’s how you can get discounts on the new $9 toll to enter Lower Manhattan

Before New York City’s congestion pricing plan to charge a $9 fee to those driving into Lower Manhattan starts on Jan. 5, there will be eight, hour-long public webinars explaining to drivers how to apply for certain discount programs, which MTA Chief Executive Officer Janno Lieber said will be held in December.
The sessions will be held between Dec. 4 and 19. They will feature a question-and-answer period and be translated into Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole and Korean.
Members of the public must register for the webinar to watch and participate in real-time. The webinar will not be live-streamed on the MTA’s YouTube channel; however, there will be a prerecorded video of the webinar available on YouTube.
Last week, federal officials approved the new rate structure that New York City’s MTA board approved on Nov. 18, clearing the way for the Jan. 5 start date. That rate structure lowered the base toll from $15 to $9 and phases in charging the full $15 toll by 2031.
Congestion pricing is intended to reduce traffic, crashes and air pollution and raise $1 billion annually for subway, bus and commuter rail projects by charging a fee to enter Manhattan’s central business district south of 60th Street.
The first one is the easiest. It’s the automatic $3 toll credit that’s deducted from the congestion fee for drivers who enter Manhattan through the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. There is no toll credit extended to drivers using the George Washington Bridge drivers.
The more complicated discounts require two things, an E-ZPass issued by a New York State toll agency and approval of an application that can be filed on the MTA website.
The Individual Disability Exemption Plan addresses a concerns raised during numerous public hearings about the cost for people who require medical treatment at facilities in the congestion zone.
This discount can cover a patient or caregiver providing transportation.
Three things are required: obtaining a New York E-ZPass, filling out an online application and making an appointment at an Assessment Center. Once a person has been determined to be eligible, they would apply for exemption for their vehicle or a caregiver’s vehicle.
A special webinar will be held on the individual disability exemption at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 4.
A discount for people with low incomes is available to New York and New Jersey residents. This provides a 50% discount that kicks in after the first 10 trips in a calendar month, and applies to all peak period trips after that.
To qualify, vehicle owners must have reported a federal adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less for the previous calendar year or be enrolled in a qualifying government assistance program and fill out and file an online application.
Individuals must provide either an IRS Form 1040 or Tax Return Transcript and corresponding W-2s from the most recent tax year, or poof they are enrolled a government assistance program. They also must have an E-Zpass issued in New York.
A webinar dedicated to the low income discount plan will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 5.
Commuter buses and vans also can be exempted from the congestion pricing fee if they qualify and apply for that discount.
Those buses must have fixed routes, and must be open to the public and the program includes jitney buses. Tour buses and charter buses are ineligible for this exemption.
A New York issued business E-ZPass s required and the exemption can be applied for on the New York E-ZPass website.
Indications that a long-awaited decision in a federal lawsuit brought by New Jersey and Fort Lee could be made by U.S. Court of International Trade Senior Judge Leo M. Gordon came after he called a Tuesday conference in Newark.
In April, Gordon heard oral arguments in the suit challenging the Federal Highway Administration’s June 2023 approval that allowed congestion pricing to proceed.
“It was very constructive, and I believe as a result of this conference the court will consider all the recent facts,” said attorney Bruce Nagel of Nagel and Weiss, who is representing Fort Lee. “I am hopeful an opinion will be rendered in the near future.”
The conference was called after Nagel, attorney Randy Mastro, representing New Jersey, and an attorney representing the Federal Highway Administration had separately written Judge Gordon urging him to render an opinion in the case.
On Wednesday, Gordon signed an order directing the Federal Highway Administration to file “all consideration, findings, and determinations” that occurred after the June 2023 approval by Dec. 3, court papers said.
Two other lawsuits filed in New York that seek to stop congestion pricing haven’t been heard. One such case brought by Hempstead on Long Island and Orange and Rockland counties is scheduled for a Dec. 20 hearing; the other was brought by the Trucking Association of New York, NY1 reported.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry