As the second full workweek of congestion pricing begins, supporters of the new tolling program point to speedier commute times as proof the program is working as intended.Commute times at two tunnels taking New Jersey drivers into New York City fell in congestion pricing’s first week, but traffic in the city remained largely static, according to a traffic tracker run by two college students.With few exceptions, crossings through the Holland and Lincoln tunnels were faster in the first week of congestion pricing, which imposed $9 in additional tolls on car drivers entering Manhattan’s central business district, than before its implementation. Sometimes, crossings through the two tunnels were twice as fast.“We’re having consistent reports that a.m. peak travel into the CBD is much faster. I think you’ve all heard it,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber said at a press conference Friday.Drivers of passenger vehicles who use the two tunnels to enter the congestion pricing zone — that’s below 60th Street — during peak hours can receive a $3 toll credit.Supporters of congestion pricing have said the policy is meant to reduce gridlock and pollution in Manhattan.But the tracker, developed by Brown University senior Benjamin Moshes and Northeastern University freshman Joshua Moshes (who are brothers), showed virtually no change in traffic inside the tolling zone.It isn’t immediately clear how congestion pricing affected traffic at other crossings into New York City.Some opponents of the policy have warned it will push motorists to less-tolled crossings not subject to congestion pricing, like the George Washington Bridge.Though the tracker does not measure commute times over the George Washington Bridge, it identified longer commutes on some other alternate routes.“Traffic seems to have increased … on ‘spillover routes’ such as the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and FDR Drive. These routes are near the congestion zone but are not being charged,” said Benjamin Moshes. “Traffic may have shifted to these from the above routes with decreased travel times.”Those increases appeared smaller than the drop in traffic on affected crossings, Moshes said.A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the George Washington Bridge and other Hudson River crossings, said the agency would not have relevant traffic volume data until February.Lawmakers in New Jersey have railed against congestion pricing, arguing New York was seeking to tax New Jersey residents to fill a $15 billion hole in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital budget while shifting Big Apple pollution to the Garden State.Gov. Phil Murphy has challenged congestion pricing in court with claims that federal authorities failed to properly weigh its impact on air quality in New Jersey. His spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment.Though New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in June suspended an earlier proposal that would have immediately set congestion tolls to $15, tolls will reach that level in 2031 after rising to $12 per crossing in 2028.Republished courtesy of New Jersey Monitor, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: [email protected] post Congestion Toll Cuts Time on Tunnel Crossings, But Few Effects on NYC Traffic appeared first on Jersey City Times.