The Federal Highway Administration approved New York City’s congestion pricing plan that will charge people nine dollars to drive into the heart of Manhattan beginning in January 2025.

The Federal Highway Administration has approved NYC’s congestion pricing plan, set to begin January 5. Drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street will pay a $9 toll, increasing to $12 by 2028 and $15 by 2031.

The MTA board on Monday fast-tracked Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to to finance mass transit with congestion pricing, rubber-stamping her plan to charge drivers a fee to enter Manhattan's Central Business District.

The approval from the federal Department of Transportation represents a big bureaucratic step toward enacting the tolls.

Kathy Hochul’s initiative to implement the nation’s first congestion pricing, imposing fees on drivers entering lower Manhattan. Commuters will pay a new toll of $9 to enter Manhattan’s Central Business District south of 60th Street as soon as January.

The authority runs the subway, buses and commuter lines to the suburbs, as well as some tunnels and bridges, and will now implement congestion pricing. On November 18th its board approved the new $9 toll.

The program, which would charge drivers a fee for entering Manhattan south of 60th St., aims to ease traffic in central Manhattan, reduce pollution and raise funds for public transit improvements.

Federal officials have approved a plan that would allow New York City to implement a $9 toll on cars that are driving into Manhattan as part of an effort to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.

The plan is now scheduled to start just after midnight on Jan. 5. But despite this final government approval, congestion pricing could still be undone, even after its start date.