Commuting in Boston can be a nightmare. Sometimes you find yourself stuck in hours-long traffic wishing you’d taken the T. Other times you’re waiting for an elusive train that never shows up, wondering why you even gave the T a chance.

But here’s the thing: It doesn’t have to be this bad. Just take a look at New York’s promising attempt to fix its own traffic woes. In January, New York City launched its congestion pricing program, which charges drivers a steep toll to enter Manhattan’s busiest streets. It’s $9 during peak hours, which are 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the weekends, and $2.25 during off-peak hours.

The program is the first of its kind in the United States, though there are versions of it in cities like Stockholm, London, and Singapore. And it has two primary objectives: First, the cost is meant to discourage people from commuting by car. Second, the revenue it raises is meant to fund public transit improvements that would make the region less car-dependent in the long run.

So far, the program has been largely successful. It has reduced the number of cars on the roads, improved commute times, and even contributed to a drop in traffic-related deaths. The streets in the congestion zone are also receiving fewer traffic noise complaints.

Some lawmakers across the country are taking notice. Here in Massachusetts, Democratic state Senator Brendan Crighton from Lynn, who serves as cochair of the Legislature’s transportation committee, says that schemes like congestion pricing should remain on the table when it comes to addressing the MBTA’s long-term fiscal concerns. (Evidently, the millionaires’ tax that voters passed in 2022 is not enough.)

As lawmakers consider whether this is a good idea for Boston, here are three takeaways from New York’s nearly year-long experiment:

1) There’s still a lot of traffic, but it’s getting better

There’s no way around it: New York will always have traffic jams. The city is home to more than 8 million residents, and the metropolitan area has a population of some 20 million. But since the city launched congestion pricing, the number of cars on the road has dropped.

This past summer, 67,000 fewer cars were entering Lower Manhattan every day compared with historical averages, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Other analyses earlier this year also showed a reduction in traffic, with average car speeds increasing by as much as 20 percent during rush hour within the congestion relief zone.

As a result, public transit has also improved. Buses have become more efficient, reliably moving faster. The average bus speed increase doesn’t seem too impressive — about 3.5 percent — but some buses are moving nearly 30 percent faster, and virtually all bus routes that interact with the congestion zone have seen an improvement in speed.

2) Congestion pricing is a great source of revenue

New York officials say that the new toll is on track to raise the projected $500 million in its first year — money that in the long run will go toward a multibillion-dollar plan to improve subways, buses, and commuter rail lines and make those modes of transportation more appealing.

Even though there is something to be said about how deeply driving is embedded in American culture, at the end of the day commuters are rational consumers. And if getting from point A to point B is both faster and cheaper on public transit, then a lot of people will go for that option, even if they would otherwise prefer driving.

3) At first, people hate it. Then they learn to love it.

New York’s plan ran into roadblocks before it officially launched. Just before it was meant to go into effect in June 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul postponed its launch indefinitely. Seven months later, she launched the program, but with a lower toll — $9 instead of the originally planned $15.

Part of the reason for that back and forth was public opposition to congestion pricing. In December 2024, for example, less than a third of New York City voters supported it. But just as was the case with other cities around the world that have tried congestion pricing, the program got more popular after residents got a taste of its benefits. According to a YouGov poll in August, public support and opposition for congestion pricing have almost entirely flipped, with 59 percent of New York City voters supporting keeping the toll in place.

Now, just because something works in New York doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in Boston or elsewhere. New York is America’s largest city — more than 10 times the size of Boston — and its subway system is by far the most expansive in the country. Implementing a costly toll to enter downtown Boston might not be as successful in pushing drivers to use other modes of transportation, because their options are ultimately more limited than the ones available to commuters in and around New York City. (More than that, the Trump administration has openly opposed New York’s congestion pricing and has attempted but so far failed to block it in court, and other cities could face similar scrutiny from the federal government.)

But that doesn’t mean that congestion pricing is not worth trying, even if it takes years to get it done. After all, if Boston wants fewer cars on the road, the first step is to improve public transit. And what’s a better way to do that in the long run than to create a steady daily revenue stream from commuters, whether they’re riding the T or driving their cars? It might be a political risk at first, but the potential reward is too appealing to ignore.

Abdallah Fayyad can be reached at abdallah.fayyad@globe.com. Follow him @abdallah_fayyad.