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New York City is now the first city in the country to implement a congestion pricing program. It costs $9 a day for most passenger vehicles to drive into Manhattan below 60th Street. Major cities around the world already have congestion pricing as a way to reduce traffic and pollution. From member station WNYC, Steven Nessen reports on how things are going in New York.
STEVEN NESSEN, BYLINE: The minute the tolls went into effect Sunday, just after midnight, dozens of transit advocates gathered on a street corner to celebrate.
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NESSEN: Revellers popped champagne and passed around plastic cups. Thirty-nine-year-old Brandon Chamberlin grew up in the city and supports the plan. He drove into the zone with his 80-year-old father, hoping to be one of the first to pay a fee to drive into Manhattan.
BRANDIN CHAMBERLIN: So excited for it to be relieved that we got across the finish line.
NESSEN: He lives in Brooklyn and hopes the tolls will have a spillover effect in his borough.
CHAMBERLIN: I'm excited for the better air quality 'cause there's going be a lot less toll shopping.
NESSEN: Before congestion pricing, there were no tolls to cross the three bridges from Brooklyn into Lower Manhattan. Now drivers will pay $9 once a day. The overnight charge is $2.25. That's how much Abdo Yahyay just paid. He drives to his job at a deli in Queens that closes late. He says the overnight toll is still cheaper than a subway ride.
ABDO YAHYAY: If we have to pay, we have to pay.
NESSEN: So it's not going to change your habits.
YAHYAY: No. I mean, I still have - I have to come in. I'm not going to come and walk in, so...
NESSEN: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is running the toll program. The chair of the agency, Janno Lieber, says nearly all of the money from congestion pricing will go back into making improvements to the aging public transit system.
JANNO LIEBER: We're getting electric buses done. We're buying new cars. We're putting - we're replacing all that track and power and structure that was - came in when FDR was the president, Franklin Roosevelt. All that is being replaced.
NESSEN: In Lower Manhattan during the Monday morning rush, as light flurries fell, New Jersey driver Eric Camp grumbled about the new charge.
ERIC CAMP: I mean, it sucks, but - not much of a choice.
NESSEN: His town has no train station, so rather than take a bus to a train, he saves time by driving to Manhattan. Pulling up behind him in a large truck is Sean Collins, who drives for a small delivery company, which will pay the toll. He says he's already seeing the impact with less traffic on the streets.
SEAN COLLINS: It was really spectacular to see this morning. I'm loving it. I am loving it.
NESSEN: It's too soon to know for sure, but the Transit Authority expects traffic to decrease by at least 10% in the tolling zone. With more than 700,000 vehicles entering the city each day, experts say there will be a noticeable change on city streets. For NPR News, I'm Steven Nessen in New York.
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