The federal judge who could decide the fate of congestion pricing dismissed on Thursday a number of arguments in lawsuits seeking to stop the toll, a move likely to strengthen New York State’s defense of the program in its fight against the Trump administration.
The judge, Lewis J. Liman of Federal District Court in Manhattan, who had previously denied requests to halt the January start of congestion pricing, rejected more arguments from opponents of the program in an exhaustive, 98-page decision.
The opponents, including two coalitions of New York City residents, an influential teachers’ union and a trucking association, contend that the plan was not properly vetted, that it is unfair to drivers and that some communities could see more traffic as motorists avoid the tolls, among other complaints.
The decision bodes well for the state. Judge Liman is also presiding over a related congestion pricing case between the federal government and the toll operator, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That case promises to be the most consequential of all the lawsuits under review.
The ruling on Thursday could mean the federal government will have a narrower legal path in its efforts to block the toll, said Justin Backal Balik, a former city transportation official and a vice president at Evergreen Action, an environmental advocacy group.
“What we’re seeing in this ruling is further evidence of what we already knew to be true, which is that New York followed the law and the process,” said Mr. Balik, a supporter of congestion pricing.
Federal transportation officials had demanded that the state end the tolling program, which charges most drivers $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak traffic times, by March 21. President Trump has promised to terminate the toll, which he stated, without providing evidence, would hurt the local economy.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who controls the M.T.A., has vowed to keep the toll cameras on, leading Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, to extend the deadline to April 20, Easter Sunday. In veiled threats, he has suggested that his agency could withhold federal funding from New York if it does not comply.
But the federal government has already conceded in a legal filing that the toll could stay on for several more months, as its case against the M.T.A. wends through the courts.
The federal Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On social media, an account representing the agency wrote last week that it stands behind its April 20 deadline and “will not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal in response to noncompliance.”
John J. McCarthy, the chief of policy and external relations at the M.T.A., said the transit authority was pleased with the judge’s ruling, noting that the program had already undergone “multiple years of study” that produced a lengthy environmental review, as well as two re-evaluations.
Avi Small, a spokesman for the governor, added: “Congestion pricing is working. Business is up, traffic is down and the cameras are staying on.”
New York’s congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the United States, began Jan. 5 with the goals of reducing traffic and pollution along some of the most backed-up roads in the country and raising $15 billion for improvements to the city’s subway, buses and two commuter railroads.
But the plan has faced multiple legal challenges in recent years from opponents who have argued that the program penalized drivers, was not properly reviewed for its potential environmental effects, shifted traffic to other areas and disproportionately affected some poor and minority communities.
Judge Liman presided over four of those cases: one brought by Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, and Vito J. Fossella Jr., the Staten Island borough president, and others by two separate groups of New York City residents and by the Trucking Association of New York.
Last June, Judge Liman rejected claims by plaintiffs that federal transportation officials had allowed the tolling program to move forward without a comprehensive environmental review or adequate mitigation of its potential adverse effects. Then, in December, he denied requests for an injunction, allowing the toll cameras to turn on in January.
Jack L. Lester, a lawyer who represents one of the groups of residents suing over the tolls, New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax, said that the latest ruling on Thursday was not surprising, given the judge’s past statements.
But Mr. Lester said his clients would continue to fight congestion pricing, and were pursuing legal options to require the state and federal governments to conduct a socioeconomic impact study of the tolls. The program has “placed disproportionate socioeconomic burdens” on working-class New Yorkers who have no choice but to drive, he said.
Alison Gendar, a spokeswoman for the teachers’ union, said the group was “reviewing the decision and considering our next steps.”
While the toll has been active for only four months, early data points have been promising.
Since the program began, the toll zone has had six million fewer vehicles, or a 12.5 percent reduction in traffic, compared with an analysis of 2022 and 2023 data, according to Juliette Michaelson, the deputy chief of policy at the M.T.A.
Deterring residents from driving during peak traffic times has most likely pushed more people to take mass transit. Subway ridership, while still below prepandemic levels, rose nearly 7 percent in the first quarter of 2025, Ms. Michaelson said. Yellow taxi trips, which charge riders a smaller fee within the congestion zone, were up 25 percent in the first three weeks of February, compared with the same period last year, she said.
Fears that the toll would tank business in Manhattan have not been borne out. In March, foot traffic within commercial districts in the congestion zone was up more than 3 percent, compared with the same time last year, which was a larger increase than in business districts elsewhere in the city, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
The program is also on track to raise $500 million through toll revenue in its first year, which will be used to borrow billions more to finance long overdue maintenance projects across the region’s transit system.
The program remains unpopular with a large share of New Yorkers, though there are signs that acceptance is growing.
A Quinnipiac poll of registered New York City voters in March found that, while 54 percent of respondents opposed the toll, 49 percent disagreed with the president’s attempt to end the program — more than those who agreed with his actions.
A more recent survey by Marist found that nearly six out of 10 New York State residents said the toll should be eliminated, because “it is an unfair tax on working commuters.” But among those polled, New York City dwellers — the ones whose commutes are most likely to be affected — were the most likely to approve of it.
Stefanos Chen is a Times reporter covering New York City’s transit system.
Winnie Hu is a Times reporter covering the people and neighborhoods of New York City.
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