Trump’s DOT acts to kill congestion pricing in NY; MTA files legal challenge

Donald Trump’s new Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has told New York Gov. Kathy Hochul that the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration effective Feb. 19 terminated approval of the pilot for New York’s Congestion Pricing.

In a letter to Hochul, Duffy rescinded a November 21, 2024 agreement signed under the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) that effectively ends Congestion Pricing that imposes tolls on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority quickly moved to challenge the action in federal court.

MTA chief Janno Lieber said in a statement, “Today, the MTA filed papers in federal court to ensure that the highly successful program – which has already dramatically reduced congestion, bringing reduced traffic and faster travel times,  while increasing speeds for buses and emergency vehicles – will continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away from the millions of mass transit users, pedestrians and, especially, the drivers who come to the Manhattan Central Business District. It’s mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally-supervised environmental review – and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program – USDOT would seek to totally reverse course.”

New York City congestion pricing cameras.

In reacting to the federal action, Hochul said, “Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future — as a New Yorker, like President Trump, knows very well.

“Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever. Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10 percent. Transit ridership is up, drivers are having a better experience, and support for this program is growing every day.

“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”

Duffy said in the letter notifying Hochul of the federal government’s action, “New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners. Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair. The program also hurts small businesses in New York that rely on customers from New Jersey and Connecticut. Finally, it impedes the flow of commerce into New York by increasing costs for trucks, which in turn could make goods more expensive for consumer. Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means. It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few.”

Duffy gave two reasons for terminating the tolls. First, that the scope of the is unprecedented and provides no toll-free option for many drivers who want or need to travel by vehicle in this major urbanized area. Second, that the toll rate was set primarily to raise revenue for transit, rather than at an amount needed to reduce congestion. By doing so, the pilot runs contrary to the purpose of the VPPP, which is to impose tolls for congestion reduction – not transit revenue generation, according to the logic used by the federal government.

The DOT said that the Federal Highway Administration will work with the project sponsors on an orderly termination of the tolls. It did not appear that the state was ordered to immediately stop toll collection.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day, who has been an opponent of Congestion Pricing said, “Our relentless efforts in exposing the sheer absurdity of this plan helped drive the decision to put an end to this unjust tax. … Governor Kathy Hochul and the MTA should not be punishing hardworking families who are simply trying to make a living. Instead, they must first invest in the necessary transit infrastructure to make public transportation a viable option. … We urge the new administration to follow with a full audit of the MTA’s finances, because accountability is long overdue, along with the immediate resignation of MTA Chair Janno Lieber.”

Republican Congressman Mike Lawler whose New York 17th Congressional District includes part of Westchester said, “Make no mistake: this entire program is nothing more than a scam — a money grab — and is the symptom of a far deeper, systemic issue in our state – government overreach and rampant mismanagement at the hands of Kathy Hochul and her cronies in Albany. Instead of imposing new, crippling taxes on struggling families, we should be auditing the MTA, the worst-run authority in America, to find savings, address its outrageous waste, and make sure that commuters are kept safe and served as well as they deserve.”