Congestion Pricing in Manhattan: What New Drivers Need to Know (2026)

Illustration (AI-generated image). Not a photo of Drive Rite staff or students.

Congestion pricing in Manhattan is an MTA toll on vehicles that enter local streets and avenues at or below 60th Street. With E-ZPass, a passenger car pays $9 in peak hours or $2.25 overnight, no more than once a day. The MTA lists no exemption for learner drivers, so plan whose car, whose E-ZPass and which crossing before you practice.

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Last updated: October 29, 2026

If you are learning to drive in Manhattan, or practicing in a family car that sometimes heads into Midtown or downtown, the congestion toll is part of every plan. This guide explains where the zone starts and ends, what a car pays and when, which roads and crossings change the toll, how the bill finds the car's owner, and which learner permit rules matter on the way in. We checked every toll amount, hour and rule on mta.info and dmv.ny.gov on October 29, 2026.

Start with the key facts.

The infographic below shows the six planning steps covered later in this guide.

Photo panels are illustrations (AI-generated images).

What Is Congestion Pricing in Manhattan?

Congestion pricing is the MTA's Congestion Relief Zone tolling program. Since January 5, 2025, vehicles that enter the zone have been charged a toll. According to MTA Bridges and Tunnels, the toll has relieved crowding in what was historically the most congested district in the United States.

The toll is collected electronically. Detection points read each car's license plate as it enters the zone. The MTA's congestion pricing FAQ also notes that the program faces a legal challenge and says tolls are being collected until further notice. Check that page before a big trip if you want the latest status.

For a new driver, the toll is not a driving skill, but it affects your plans. It changes what a practice drive into Midtown costs, which crossing makes sense and whose account pays. Our guide on whether driving in Manhattan is hard to learn covers the driving side of the city, from one-way avenues to crowded crosswalks.

Where the Zone Starts and Ends

The MTA's Congestion Relief Zone page defines the zone as the local streets and avenues in Manhattan south of and including 60th Street. Three roads are left out: the FDR Drive, the West Side Highway (Route 9A), and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connections to West Street.

That leads to a few rules that surprise new drivers:

• Staying on an excluded road is free. If you drive the FDR Drive or the West Side Highway past the zone and never leave it for a local street, you are not tolled.
• Parking off an excluded road is not. The MTA says parking on or just off the FDR Drive or the West Side Highway counts as entering the zone.
• Trips that stay inside are free. If a trip starts inside the zone and never leaves it, there is no toll. Leaving across 60th Street, or over a bridge or through a tunnel, and then coming back in counts as a new entry.
• A car pays once a day at most. The toll day runs from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. A passenger car that enters more than once in that day pays the rate that applied at its first entry.

The line runs across the whole island at 60th Street. If a practice drive stays north of 60th Street, for example on the Upper East Side or the Upper West Side, the car does not enter the zone.

What a Car Pays, and When

Sedans, SUVs, minivans, pickup trucks and small vans count as passenger vehicles. Here is what a passenger vehicle pays in 2026, according to the MTA toll page and the MTA's published rate sheet.

The overnight toll is 75 percent lower than the peak toll. The MTA has also set the peak E-ZPass toll to rise to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031, so check the rates again in future years.

Taxis and app rides work differently. Instead of the daily toll, they pay a smaller per-trip charge in the zone: $0.75 for taxis, green cabs and black cars, and $1.50 for high-volume for-hire vehicles such as app rides.

Crossings, Credits and Tolled Connections

Drives from Brooklyn, Queens or New Jersey reach Manhattan over a bridge or through a tunnel, and the crossing you choose can change the bill.

During peak hours, a car with E-ZPass that enters through the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel or Hugh L. Carey Tunnel gets a crossing credit of up to $3 against the congestion toll. The credit does not apply overnight, and it does not apply to Tolls by Mail.

Connections between an excluded road and a river crossing are often tolled, because the route touches local streets. The MTA FAQ gives these examples:

As these examples show, the toll depends on whether your route reaches the local streets of the zone, not just on which crossing you use.

Permit Rules on the Way Into Manhattan

The congestion toll applies to every driver, but a learner permit adds limits on how you get there. The DMV learner permit restrictions say every permit holder needs a supervising driver who is 21 or older and holds a valid license for the car. No matter your age, you may not drive on any street within a park in New York City, on any bridge or tunnel run by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or in a DMV road test area.

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority operates as MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and its two tunnels are the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. Both connect with the congestion zone, and both earn a crossing credit, but a permit holder may not drive either one. If a trip needs one of those tunnels, the licensed driver takes the wheel for that part. Our guide on who can supervise a learner driver in NYC explains who can sit beside you.

Painted lanes matter inside the zone too. Many Manhattan avenues have bus lanes and bike lanes, and many bus lanes are watched by cameras. Our guide to bus lanes and bike lanes in NYC explains when a car may enter one.

Whose Car, Whose E-ZPass?

New drivers often practice in a parent's, partner's or friend's car, and that is where most toll surprises start. The toll follows the license plate, not the person driving.

According to the MTA FAQ, if the car has an E-ZPass linked to its plate, that account is charged. If the car has no E-ZPass, or the E-ZPass inside does not match the car's plate, the system mails a Tolls by Mail bill to the registered owner at the higher rate. Bringing your own E-ZPass into a borrowed car does not help unless that plate is on your account.

If the family car does not have E-ZPass yet, the MTA says there is no charge for an E-ZPass New York tag and no monthly fee. You can open an account on the E-ZPass New York website with as little as $25, which goes toward your tolls, and the Pay Per Trip option needs no prepaid balance. The tag arrives in 5 to 7 business days, so set it up well before the drive. Out-of-state E-ZPass tags get the E-ZPass rate when the plate is on the account.

For E-ZPass New York customers, the toll posts to the account within 3 days, and any crossing credit posts 2 to 4 days after that.

Exemptions and Discounts

Living in the zone or driving a cleaner car does not remove the toll. The MTA says residents pay when they drive into the zone, and zero-emission and low-emission vehicles are tolled too. The discounts and exemptions page lists no exemption for learner drivers or practice drives.

The programs that do exist include:

• Low-Income Discount Plan. Eligible drivers get 50 percent off the peak toll after their first 10 trips in a calendar month.
• Disability exemptions. Two plans cover vehicles that carry people with disabilities, one for individuals and one for organizations.
• Vehicle exemptions. Emergency vehicles, some specialized government vehicles, NYC Department of Education school buses and some commuter buses and vans are exempt.
• Resident tax credit. Zone residents with a New York adjusted gross income under $60,000 may claim a New York State tax credit for tolls they paid.

Discount and exemption plans need an E-ZPass New York account, and each plan has its own sign-up and renewal steps on the MTA page.

Plan a Practice Drive Into the Zone in 6 Steps

Use these steps before any supervised drive that may cross into the zone.

1. Check Your Permit Rules. Confirm your supervising driver is 21 or older with a valid license for the car. If you hold a junior permit, drive only between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., with a qualified supervisor and dual controls.
2. Link E-ZPass to the Plate. Make sure the car you will drive has an E-ZPass linked to its own plate. Ask the owner before you leave, since any Tolls by Mail bill goes to them.
3. Know the 60th Street Line. Decide whether the drive needs to go below 60th Street at all. Many skills, like lane changes and turns on one-way streets, can be practiced north of the line.
4. Plan One Entry for the Day. If you do go in, plan the session so one entry covers it. The car pays no more than once a day, at the rate in effect when it first enters.
5. Skip MTA Tunnels on a Permit. Permit holders may not drive through the Queens-Midtown or Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. Let the licensed driver handle those crossings, or choose a route without them.
6. Check Tolls, Skip Scam Texts. Look for the charge on the E-ZPass account within a few days. Check and pay through the E-ZPass New York website or the Tolls NY app, never through a link in a text.

Late fall adds one more thing to plan for. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, according to NIST. Clocks go back one hour, so evening practice drives get dark sooner, while the peak toll still runs until 9 p.m.

Learning to Drive in Manhattan With Drive Rite

Rules are only part of driving in Manhattan. The rest is time behind the wheel with someone who can catch your habits early. Drive Rite Academy teaches in Manhattan from our office at 38 W 32nd St, Suite 1306, by appointment, and our Manhattan lessons begin at a calmer meeting point before your instructor adds busier streets. If you do not have a car at home, our guide on learning to drive in Manhattan without owning a car shows how adults get licensed anyway.

Once you have your license, highways are the next step. Our Highway Mastery Program covers merging, lane changes and exits at highway speed, and our guide to driving the Belt Parkway for the first time shows what a first parkway drive looks like.

For current prices, give us a call at 718-928-7048 or enroll online to see them.

Here are answers to the questions we hear most often about the congestion toll.

Your Next Step

Congestion pricing does not change how you drive, but it changes how you plan. You now know where the zone starts and ends, what a car pays and when, which crossings and connections are tolled, how the bill reaches the owner, and which permit rules apply on the way in. Link E-ZPass to the car, keep tunnels for the licensed driver, and choose your practice area on purpose.

Ready to practice in Manhattan with an instructor? Book a lesson on our Manhattan page, or choose another borough below.