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Is Boston moving closer to charging drivers a fee to enter the city core during rush hour? On Tuesday, Mayor Wu told the MBTA Advisory Board that her administration has been in touch with New York City officials to learn more about their experiment so far with congestion pricing.
It’s an encouraging sign that our mayor — who has been a proponent of at least exploring the idea even as a city councillor— is at least kicking the tires on a policy that has already delivered positive results in the Big Apple.
New York’s system, launched in January 2025, charges most motorists $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours. Naturally, it was greeted with howls of protest from suburban commuters and business leaders who predicted calamity.
But, there are encouraging signs that it’s working toward a good and desired effect. According to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 27 million fewer vehicles entered the congestion zone in its first year, an 11 percent reduction. Subway ridership in New York City also grew 7.7 percent in 2025, with nearly 93 million additional trips compared with 2024. And bus ridership increased substantially, according to Mass Transit, a magazine that covers urban transit systems.
Most impressively, the program generated more than $550 million in net revenue for public transportation improvements.
“Our teams have been in touch a little bit to just understand, kind of, what they have experienced and the details there,” Wu said when asked by a board member if Boston might follow New York’s lead on this one.
“Mass. Municipal Association, [Medford] Mayor Lungo-Koehn and I, and the Metro Boston mayors — we’ve all been talking about revenue for a long time now,” she noted, “because the economic environment that we’re in is straining cities in general. Record numbers of Prop 2-and-a-half override ballot override questions going to the ballot.”
Funds raised by tolls can be put to good use to improve infrastructure and reduce fares for public transit riders here in the neighborhoods. Wu told the advisory board this week that Boston’s fare-free bus pilot, for example, has been “transformational.” But it costs money to subsidize these free routes and other incentives. Covid-era federal grants have dried up and with this administration still in power for at least two more years, we cannot count on Washington DC to make up the difference.
Congestion pricing would not solve every problem confronting the T and it won’t eliminate our neighborhood’s traffic headaches entirely. But it could make it better.
Earlier this year, Wu’s administration released Boston’s new 2030 Climate Action Plan, which committed the city to studying several financial mechanisms to discourage automobile trips into Boston. Among them were parking charges, tolls and congestion-related fees.
The plan classified these measures as proposals to “evaluate and explore,” rather than policies it had committed to implementing. Appearing on GBH radio shortly afterward, Wu said congestion pricing could be a “win-win” if designed properly. But, she cautioned that Boston was still studying the concept.
Boston needs a transportation system built for the future, not one perpetually snarled in traffic. Congestion pricing should be on the table for Boston and we hope Mayor Wu will follow through.
Copyright © 2026 Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. This content may not be re-published or re-used without written permission.
