Wu Says Boston Is Studying New York’s Congestion Pricing

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu told the MBTA Advisory Board on Tuesday, Oct. 20, that her team has been in contact with New York City officials to learn how its congestion pricing system works, putting Boston congestion pricing back into the regional debate over how to pay for transit. Wu did not announce a proposal, according to State House News Service.

What Wu Told the MBTA Advisory Board

“Our teams have been in touch a little bit to just understand, kind of, what they have experienced and the details there,” Wu said, according to State House News Service. She said the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and other Metro Boston mayors have been “talking about revenue for a long time now” because the economic environment is “straining cities in general,” and she pointed to a record number of Proposition 2½ override questions on local ballots.

The topic came up after advisory board member Len Diggins urged Wu not to be “afraid” of new taxes to fund the transportation system. “I think if you present the public with a plan, a good vision, along with that plan for what will happen with the additional funds for which you’re asking, maybe it can go a long way towards getting the support for that,” Diggins said, as quoted by State House News Service.

Speaking about New York’s program, Wu said, “Right now, drivers in New York pay around $9 during peak hours, and funding goes toward the subway and other improvements,” WCVB reported.

How New York’s System Works

Under New York’s program, passenger cars and small commercial vehicles entering the charging zone pay $9 once a day during peak hours, which run from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, State House News Service reported. Overnight tolls are $2.25 for cars, while trucks and buses pay higher rates. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said in January that the program brought in more than $550 million in net revenue in its first year and that 27 million fewer vehicles entered the zone, an 11 percent reduction in traffic, according to the news service.

Where the Idea Stands in Massachusetts

Congestion pricing has been discussed at the state level before. Gov. Maura Healey’s Transportation Funding Task Force considered it, but the policy was left out of the task force’s final report, WCVB reported. Former Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in 2024 that the task force would be “looking at everything,” and she faced backlash after discussing tolls at the state’s borders, State House News Service reported. The news service also noted that drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike have long paid tolls, while proposals to add tolls on roads that do not have them have drawn sensitivity from the public.

No congestion pricing plan for Boston has been filed with the City Council or the Legislature, and Wu described the contact with New York as an effort to understand its experience.

Fare-Free Buses and the Link Bus Pilot

Wu attended the meeting to discuss coordination between the city and the MBTA. She called the city-funded fare-free bus pilot “transformational” and said there are about 150,000 MBTA bus rides within Boston on an average weekday, more than half of the agency’s ridership, State House News Service reported.

She also described the city’s planned Link Bus program, five free city-run shuttle routes serving Mattapan, Roxbury, Allston-Brighton, Charlestown and the Lower Mystic area, and the South Boston Waterfront. The pilot is funded by an $11.5 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Relief Program, and Wu said the city “will be able to support this for three years of operation in the current plan,” WBUR reported. Wu said the routes are meant to “complement the regional MBTA system” by closing last-mile gaps, not compete with MBTA buses. The city is seeking operators through a request for proposals and expects to launch in early 2027; routes for Roxbury and Mattapan are still being finalized, according to WBUR and Boston.com.

MBTA Executive Director Brian Kane noted the rarity of the appearance. “I don’t think a mayor of Boston has spoken to the advisory board since at least Kevin White, possibly Ray Flynn,” he said, according to State House News Service.

What Comes Next

The city has said it will post Link Bus schedules and route details on its website when the program launches. For related coverage, see our reports on the Link Bus and street furniture plan and the Blue Hill Avenue bus lane hearing.

Featured image: Evening traffic on Interstate 93 north of Boston, with the city skyline in the distance. Photo by Robbie Shade via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Sources

• State House News Service: Boston has been in touch with NYC about congestion pricing (Oct. 20, 2026)
• WCVB: Boston explores congestion pricing as transit funding option (Oct. 21, 2026)
• WBUR: Boston has plans to launch 5 free non-MBTA bus routes (Oct. 20, 2026)
• Boston.com: Wu’s new plan to expand free public transit (Oct. 15, 2026)