Urban Congestion Pricing and the Response Times of Emergency Medical Services

New York City's congestion pricing program, implemented in January 2025, reduced emergency medical service response times by approximately one minute on average, with hospital transport times improving by 54-59 seconds in the tolled zone. The improvement resulted from a 21% reduction in passenger vehicle density and 18% reduction in truck density near the congestion zone boundary. Since longer EMS response times are linked to higher mortality rates, this traffic reduction offers a significant public health benefit beyond the program's primary goal of reducing gridlock.