Congestion toll lowered EMS response time: report

As congestion in Manhattan decreased so did FDNY ambulance response times.

According to a new study, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the congestion pricing toll instituted in Manhattan below 60th street in January 2025 reduced FDNY ambulance response times in the city’s central business district by over a minute. Passenger vehicle traffic was reduced by 21 percent in the congestion pricing zone, the study found, contributing to a 63 to 70 second reduction of ambulance response times in the congestion pricing zone, a reduction of between five and six percent.  

The study found that “reductions in vehicular traffic—especially private cars and trucks—are likely to alleviate congestion-related delays faced by ambulances,” leading to a decrease in travel time to medical incidents by between seven and nine seconds and to hospitals by between 54 and 59 seconds. 

“These latter effects are precisely estimated and robust across alternate methods for measuring distance, and demonstrate that congestion pricing yields meaningful improvements across the full EMS response cycle,” wrote the study’s authors - professors at Pace University, SUNY Purchase, Bentley University and West Virginia University. 

But leadership of EMS unions cast doubt on the study’s findings. FDNY EMTs and paramedics have dealt with increasing call volume and skyrocketing response times for the last half decade, leading, workers say, to worsening health outcomes for New Yorkers facing medical emergencies. 

"It doesn’t reflect what I've been seeing,” Anthony Almojera, a lieutenant paramedic. "There's no part of this city where we've seen response times go down."  

According to the city’s latest figures, end-to-end ambulance response times reached, on average 12 minutes, five seconds in the first four months of Fiscal Year 2026. That’s up from 11 minutes, 21 seconds over the same period in Fiscal Year 2025, continuing a trend of increasing ambulance response times year over year. 

In Fiscal Year 2024 end-to-end ambulance response time was 10 minutes, 52 seconds, and in the fiscal year prior to that it was 10 minutes, 43 seconds.  

Michael Greco, the president of Local 2507, the union representing FDNY EMTs and paramedics said that, from his experience, there has not been a 60 second reduction in response times. He said that study was likely taking some “statistical liberties” and noted that while less traffic can quicken response times, many ambulance units cross in and out of the congestion zone during runs, making accurate studies more difficult. 

The congestion pricing plan charges most drivers entering Manhattan below 60th street a $9 toll except between the hours of 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. when the charged toll decreases to $2.25.  

When the congestion pricing toll launched in early 2025, leadership of Local 2507 advised members working in the stations within the central business district below 60th street to request transfers to stations outside of the zone. Union leadership and some state lawmakers pushed for first responders to be exempt from the toll, and when the pricing plan moved forward without exemptions, union leaders warned it would be a detriment to public safety.  

But on top of the recent study showing that response times have decreased in the year and a half since congestion pricing began, the toll has been shown to reduce car traffic, decrease vehicle speeds decrease, crashes and lessen pollution, all while foot traffic and sales tax receipts have steadily increased in the city’s central business district. 

The toll, set to increase to $12 in 2028, also raises $15 billion for the MTA to spend on capital improvements.