Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he’d be “100%” open to some form of congestion pricing after moving to pull federal approval of the controversial toll program.
“I think there’s a lot of great ideas around congestion pricing, and how we can reduce it,” he said on CBS News Wednesday. “But you can’t take American taxpayers, who paid for roads, and block them out and say, ‘You can’t access this unless you pay additional money,’ and that’s what she’s done.”
The transportation secretary’s remarks leave the door open for tolls, which President Trump had declared “dead” in an all-caps social media post this week, ending with “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The MTA had quickly filed a federal lawsuit and, alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, vowed to fight to keep the first-in-the-nation plan alive.
Congestion pricing advocates have argued the $9 tolls significantly reduced traffic in Manhattan below 60th Street as intended since the program began in January.
But opponents, including Trump administration officials, contended it’s an unfair tax on commuters who have no choice but to drive.
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