Business & Finance
Study finds New York City congestion pricing reduced ambulance travel times
A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper shows that total EMS travel times near the boundary decreased by over a minute following the 2025 policy implementation.
The short version
- A working paper analyzed the impact of New York City's congestion relief zone, implemented on January 5, 2025, on emergency medical services.
- The research found that total EMS travel times near the boundary decreased by an average of 63 to 70 seconds.
- The reduction in emergency response times coincided with a notable decrease in vehicle and truck density alongside an increase in pedestrian and bicycle density near the zone's border.
Key facts
- New York City implemented its congestion relief zone on January 5, 2025, charging motorists a fee to enter high-traffic areas of Manhattan below 60th Street.[Hacker News]
- An NBER Working Paper authored by Yulia Chikish, Gregory J. Colman, Dhaval M. Dave, Brad R. Humphreys, Zachary Santamaria, and Zachary Winship examined the policy's impact on EMS response times.[Hacker News]
- The study analyzed about 500,000 EMS incidents from 2024 to 2025 using Fire Department dispatch records and traffic camera data.[Hacker News]
- Within a 5-kilometer band of the 60th Street boundary, total EMS travel time declined by approximately 63 to 70 seconds, representing a 5 to 6 percent drop.[Hacker News]
- Hospital transport time fell by 54 to 59 seconds, while travel time to the incident scene fell by a smaller, less precisely estimated 7 to 9 seconds.[Hacker News]
- Passenger vehicle density near the boundary decreased by roughly 21 percent and truck density fell by 18 percent, while pedestrian and bicycle densities rose by 14 percent and 20 percent, respectively.[Hacker News]
What remains uncertain
- The travel time reduction specifically to the incident scene was smaller and less precisely estimated by researchers than the reduction in hospital transport times.[Hacker News]