(Bloomberg) -- A plan to charge motorists entering midtown Manhattan could go into effect as soon as the end of 2023, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Executive Janno Lieber.

The MTA, which runs the city’s subways, buses and commuter rails, will start building out the sensors, cameras and other infrastructure needed to launch congestion pricing next year, “so it will happen at the end of 2023 or early 2024,” Lieber said in an interview on Thursday on Fox 5 New York.

The initiative would increase tolls for drivers entering the most-trafficked parts of New York City. It’s expected to bring in $1 billion of revenue a year that the MTA will bond against, raising $15 billion of financing to support its $51.5 billion multiyear capital plan. 

The plan got held up earlier this year by a federal environmental review -- an issue that New York Governor Kathy Hochul called out as a hurdle to implementation during a gubernatorial primary debate earlier this month. 

“It’s the right thing to do because, one, we need the money,” Lieber said on Thursday. It also ensures there’s “room in the streets for key vehicles” like buses and ambulances.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.