On the campaign trail, President Trump vowed to end New York’s congestion pricing plan. His administration followed through on Wednesday by moving to revoke federal approval for the tolling program just weeks after its Jan. 5 debut.
The program, the first of its kind in the nation, aims to reduce traffic and pollution on some of the world’s most crowded streets and help raise $15 billion for mass transit.
It charges most passenger cars $9 a day to enter a designated tolling zone below 60th Street in Manhattan. Trucks and buses pay varying rates, and steep discounts are offered for all vehicles overnight when there is less traffic. Early data has indicated that gridlock has eased and foot traffic has increased in the zone since the tolls took effect.
Sean Duffy, the new transportation secretary, sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul explaining his and Mr. Trump’s objections to the program, including the burden on working-class drivers and the use of the tolling revenue to pay for transit rather than to improve roads.
Mr. Duffy wrote that federal officials would contact the state to “discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations.” He did not specify a date to end the program.
In response, the governor vowed to keep congestion pricing in place while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that oversees the tolls, immediately filed a federal lawsuit challenging the order.
“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” Ms. Hochul said. “We’ll see you in court.”
Is congestion pricing dead?
No, congestion pricing lives on for now as the M.T.A. and federal transportation officials prepare to battle over it in court.
Janno Lieber, the authority’s chair and chief executive, said the tolling would “continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away.”
Michael Gerrard, a Columbia Law School professor who supports congestion pricing, said there was no precedent for federal officials to revoke approval for a major transportation project in New York, especially one that was working.
“It is certainly not dead by any means,” he said. “Secretary Duffy has issued an order of questionable legality.”
The legal battle could take months or years. Drivers can expect to continue paying the tolls unless the court orders that they be halted.
What can President Trump do to end it?
The federal order was hardly a surprise. Mr. Trump, who maintains a residence in Trump Tower in the congestion zone, has previously expressed concerns that the tolls would drive visitors and businesses away from Manhattan.
In recent months, New York Republican leaders and other critics of the plan, including Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, a Democrat, have urged Mr. Trump to end the program.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
Federal transportation officials will now, however, have to make their case against the program in court, transportation and legal experts said.
In the meantime, the federal government could threaten to withhold funding for other New York programs and projects until congestion pricing is stopped.
It would not be the first instance of such threats. In the 1980s, federal officials briefly threatened to withhold approval and funding for the rehabilitation of the Williamsburg Bridge over safety issues, including whether its lanes were too narrow, according to Samuel I. Schwartz, a former city traffic commissioner.
Do New Yorkers even like congestion pricing?
Congestion pricing has been deeply unpopular, especially in the boroughs and suburbs outside Manhattan where many people have limited and unreliable transit options. More than half of New York State voters who responded to a Siena College survey released in December opposed it.
But as traffic in the toll zone has thinned in recent weeks, there have been some signs that the plan may be gaining more acceptance among New Yorkers, including some who have enjoyed faster bus rides.
A broad array of opponents including city residents, leaders of suburban counties and an influential teachers’ union have filed lawsuits to block it. They have argued that the tolls would punish drivers, hurt businesses and shift traffic and pollution to other parts of the city and state.
Vito Fossella, the Staten Island borough president, who has sued over congestion pricing, thanked Mr. Trump and Secretary Duffy and called on the M.T.A. to turn off the toll readers. “It was always a three-strike loser and a nonstarter for Staten Island — more traffic, more air pollution and more tolls,” he said.
What is at stake?
While it’s still early, the initial results of the congestion pricing plan have been promising, with less traffic and faster speeds reported on some of the city’s heavily used roadways.
Foot traffic, a measure of business activity, has also improved since the tolls took effect, according to city data, although many business owners in the congestion zone remain concerned about the impact of the tolls.
Ms. Hochul had spoken to Mr. Trump several times in recent weeks about the tolling program in an effort to convince him of its benefits.
The toll revenue has already been earmarked for crucial repairs and upgrades to the city’s deteriorating subway system, buses and two commuter train lines.
Stopping congestion pricing now would leave a multibillion-dollar hole in the M.T.A.’s finances and ratchet up financial pressures on the transit agency. Mr. Lieber said Wednesday that there was no contingency plan in place.
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