Urban Congestion Pricing and the Response Times of Emergency Medical Services

NYC’s congestion pricing, launched on Jan 5 2025, reduced total EMS travel time by 63–70 seconds (≈5–6%) and cut hospital-transport time by 54–59 seconds (≈8%). The gains stemmed from a 21% drop in passenger-vehicle density and an 18% decline in truck density near the 60th-Street boundary, while pedestrian and bicycle volumes rose. Improvements appeared immediately and were localized to the zone’s edge, without shifting delays to adjacent areas.