A new toll on drivers entering the core of Manhattan brought modest but measurable traffic reductions to New York City’s heavily-gridlocked streets in its first week of operation, according to preliminary data released Monday by the state's transit authority.

The new program, known as congestion pricing, launched January 5th with the goal of raising billions of dollars in revenue.

Traffic in Midtown and lower Manhattan was down nearly 8% after the first full week of congestion tolling, according to preliminary traffic data released Monday by the MTA. “It has been a very good week here in New York,

In the days since, total traffic in the tolling zone has dropped by 7.5% — or roughly 43,000 cars per day — compared to the equivalent period last year, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said.