In December 2023 we launched Get Congestion Pricing Right in anticipation of congestion pricing’s summer 2024 implementation – and we won over $12.3M for New York City bus service in the FY2025 New York State budget!: $883,000 for increased peak service on 5 express bus routes, $540,000 for the M35, X63, and X64 buses, and $11 million for reliability on 13 total routes with focus on ridership, crowding, and equity.

Central to the campaign was the understanding that making buses more frequent and reliable would offer people a more attractive way to travel into downtown Manhattan, and show New Yorkers that congestion pricing will be met with better public transit options, instead of simply saddling them with higher costs or longer commutes.

Moreover, improving bus service has been central to the successful implementation of congestion pricing in other major world cities, which is why we launched the campaign. Before London started congestion pricing, it increased bus service by 17%. As a result, congestion was reduced by 30% and bus travel in central London increased by 33%. This is also true in Stockholm, where expanded bus service led to congestion pricing success: traffic was reduced by 22%,  and public sentiment towards the policy skyrocketed.

We were thrilled to win these investments in MTA buses – the slowest in the nation. As New York grapples with the current fate of congestion pricing, our commitment to making our transit system more frequent, reliable, and affordable remains.