Fine-particle pollution inside Manhattan’s tolling zone dropped roughly 13% below levels expected from comparison-site trends during the first full year of New York City’s congestion-pricing program. The finding comes from a Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters.
That figure represents an estimated decline of 1.3 to 1.4 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5, the fine particulate matter small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs. New York’s program, which launched January 5, 2025, is the first congestion-pricing system in the United States.
This reminds me of the drastic drops in pollution when the travel industry collapsed after COVID and in 2008 following the housing crisis.
Fuck cars. We all benefit when it becomes less feasible to drive and more feasible to use public transport.
Even drivers benefit from this as there are fewer, better drivers.
I grew up in LA and seeing it free of smog was something else. Surreal.
There were news articles about it. Wild stuff.