By Michael V. Cusenza
Congestion pricing is here to stay—for now.
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending congestion pricing via threats to slash funding to New York City and State if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority didn’t cease the polarizing tolling program the MTA launched in February.
Two weeks after the implementation of congestion pricing, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul indicating the agency was going to terminate the program. In the missive, Duffy said the scope of congestion pricing is unprecedented and provides no toll-free option for many drivers who want or need to travel by vehicle in this major urbanized area. He went on to write 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 Value Pricing Pilot Program, which is to impose tolls for congestion reduction—not transit revenue generation.
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MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber has already characterized the program as “a great success.”
“It’s backwards and unfair,” Duffy added. “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.”
Hochul called Tuesday’s decision “a massive victory for New York commuters, vindicating our right as a State to make decisions regarding what’s best for our streets. New Yorkers deserve to control our own traffic patterns, keep gridlock off our streets and protect our clean air. We need to make the massive investments necessary to support our transit system and prevent it from falling into disarray and disrepair. Congestion pricing is the right solution to get us there.
“So here’s the deal: Secretary Duffy can issue as many letters and social media posts as he wants, but a court has blocked the Trump administration from retaliating against New York for reducing traffic and investing in transit,” Hochul added. “Congestion pricing is legal, it’s working and we’re keeping the cameras on.”
