New York City

Congestion Relief
Public Safety Analysis

A live dashboard and analysis of the impact of congestion pricing on reducing vehicle crashes in the congestion relief zone

By Stephen Braitsch
Data Updated April 13th, 2025 – 2:25 AM
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At midnight on January 5th, 2025, after decades of planning and political debate, New York City activated the first congestion relief program in the United States, in the densest area of the country where 81% of residents do not own a car. Modeled after programs in London, Stockholm, and Singapore which have successfully reduced vehicle crashes by 35% and have raised billions for public transit, New York's congestion relief program is expected to generate over $500 million annually to fund desperately needed improvements to the city's crumbling public transit system which over 5 million people depend on daily.

Now, less than two months after the program began, the Trump administration is trying to kill congestion pricing so wealthy suburbanites can joyride around lower Manhattan and continue to inflict noise, pollution and pain on the people who live there. Much has been said by the corporate media about the perceived economic impacts of congestion pricing however hardly anyone is talking about the program's impact on equity, quality of life and safety for the 800,000 people who live in the congestion relief zone.

This project is a live dashboard and map that shows the impact of New York's congestion relief program on reducing vehicle crashes and related injuries. It automatically updates daily with the last crash data from New York's open data portal and is designed to help you understand and track congestion pricing's impact on making Manhattan's streets safer.

Before vs After Congestion Pricing

The most obvious way to examine the impact of congestion pricing on public safety is to look at the number of vehicle crashes and related injuries for an equal amount of time before and after congestion pricing began. The chart below shows exactly this for the 93 days of data we have before and after January 5th, 2025 when congestion pricing began.

Since January 5th, there have been 487 fewer vehicle crashes (26.31% decrease) and 268 fewer vehicle related injuries (30.52% decrease) in the congestion relief zone compared to the 93 days prior to January 5th. Check back tomorrow to see this chart updated with the latest data.

Vehicle Crashes
before
1851
after
1364
percent change
-26.31%
Vehicle Related Injuries
before
878
after
610
percent change
-30.52%
Motorists
Pedestrians
Bicyclists

Comparing Year Over Year Since January 5th

Another view is to examine the number of vehicle crashes and related injuries since January 5th year over year. In the 93 days between 01/05/2024 and 04/08/2024 there were 1580 vehicle crashes that resulted in 729 injuries. During the same time period in 2025 there were 1364 vehicle crashes that resulted in 612 injuries, which is a 13.67% decrease in crashes and a 16.05% decrease in vehicle related injuries compared to 2024 when congestion pricing did not exist.

Tap or hover over any point on the line chart to see the number of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists injured on that day and check back tomorrow to see this chart updated with the latest data.

Compare
VS
Vehicle Crashes
2024
1580
2025
1364
percent change
-13.67%
Vehicle Related Injuries
2024
729
2025
612
percent change
-16.05%
2023
2024
2025

Tracking Crashes in the Congestion Relief Zone

In 2024, approximately every 78 minutes someone crashed their motor vehicle in the congestion relief zone. That equates to 19 crashes per day, every single day.

In the past 30 days 209 people have been injured by car violence in the congestion relief zone and 1 person has been killed.

March 10
March 16
March 22
March 28
April 3
April 8

The vast majority of residents in the congestion relief zone do not drive

Instead they walk, bike or take public transit to work. What’s more, we know from years and years of studies that people who drive into Manhattan are wealthier and more job-secure than those who commute by transit. In other words, those who drive into Manhattan are already privileged, benefitting from decades of investments in road infrastructure and other subsidies for driving.

In addition, ⅓ of residents in the congestion relief zone are children, seniors or disabled: These are groups that are especially vulnerable to aggressive and impatient motorists, and it shows: New York City is in the midst of an epidemic of pedestrian death and injury, with 201 people killed on its streets in 2024.

A Crash Every 1 Hour and 18 Minutes

In 2024, there were 6,779 vehicle crashes in the congestion relief zone. This translates to a crash every 1 hour and 18 minutes.

81% of Households are Car-Free

There are 420,423 homes in the congestion relief zone. Of these, 339,745 (81%) do not own a car.

1/3 of Residents are Vulnerable

Approximately 811,129 people live in the congestion relief zone. 93,127 are children, 134,641 are seniors and 33,753 identify as disabled. Together, these three vulnerable groups of people make up 32% of all residents who live in the congestion relief zone.

89% of Residents Don't Drive

89% of residents walk, bike, scoot or take public transit as their primary means of transportation.

About This Project

Stephen Braitsch – Creative direction and engineering

Sam Vogt – Visual and UX design support

Beaudry Kock – Editorial support

Data Sources

Vehicle crash and victim data is sourced from NYC's Open Data platform.

Neighborhood demographic data is sourced from the U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates (2019 - 2023).