N.Y.C. Congestion Pricing Begins on Sunday

Starting Sunday, most drivers will have to pay $9 to enter the busiest part of Manhattan. That much is clear.

But almost everything else about New York City’s congestion-pricing plan, the first of its kind in the United States, continues to be fiercely debated.

Transportation, business and civic leaders, as well as long-suffering subway and bus riders, consider the tolling plan a long-overdue step toward unclogging the city’s gridlocked streets, raising billions of dollars for an aging transit system and encouraging a more sustainable future with fewer cars.

“Congestion pricing will finally tackle the gridlock that is slowing down emergency vehicles, polluting air and wasting people’s time in traffic,” said John J. McCarthy, the chief of policy and external relations for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will oversee the program.

But suburban commuters, residents of the city’s so-called transit deserts and public officials of both parties say congestion pricing will do little to reduce traffic while punishing drivers from outside Manhattan with few other travel options. These critics have called the tolling plan a money-grab by the M.T.A., a state agency with a history of financial problems.

“This is just simply a misguided policy,” said Ed Day, the Rockland County executive. He has sued to halt the program, which, he said, “raises serious questions about fairness, priorities and accountability.”