With congestion pricing now in effect in New York City, officials announced Tuesday a crackdown on drivers who try to obscure their license plates, or use "ghost plates,"  to get out of paying the new toll.

New York’s much-debated plan to charge drivers to enter the center of Manhattan is set to take effect Sunday just after midnight, following years of bureaucratic and legal roadblocks. The goals of what is known as “congestion pricing” are to reduce gridlock and pollution and raise revenue for public transit.

Anticipating a rise in so-called "ghost vehicles" with the advent of congestion pricing, New York City officials are looking to give police more leeway to go after drivers who hide or obstruct their license plates.

One day after New York City completed its first full weekday of the new congestion pricing tolling program, police are cracking down on motorists trying to bypass the system. Assisting the MTA, the NYPD stopped several drivers who tried to cover up parts of their license plates to avoid being charged as they entered the congestion zone.

The NYPD is warning drivers not to fake or cover their license plates before entering the congestion pricing zone in Manhattan. The agency’s Transportation Bureau posted two photos to X on Tuesday of two license plates – both showing tape covering one letter.

New York City drivers who obscure or cover their license plates to skirt automated tolls and tickets are in for a rude awakening, the city transportation department warned on Tuesday. The city published plans to impose new fines on drivers whose plates are covered with anything “including dirt,

Drivers in New York cheat their way out of paying millions of dollars in local tolls each year, and with the launch of congestion pricing they have fresh motivation to get creative with toll dodging.