Trump to halt NY congestion pricing by pulling federal approval

New York City’s new congestion pricing program is likely to be halted after the US Department of Transportation announced its plan to reverse an earlier federal approval for the tolling initiative, a move that will most likely face legal challenges.

The Federal Highway Administration is walking away from an agreement signed in November under President Joe Biden that allows the Metropolitan Transportation Authority - which runs the city’s transit network - to charge drivers entering Manhattan’s busiest streets, according to a statement from US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy said in a statement. “Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means. It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few.”

The decision will likely halt the first congestion pricing program in the US, and risks ending it altogether. There were 1.2 million fewer vehicles south of 60th street between Jan. 5 and Jan. 31, a 7.5% drop, according to the MTA. The travel time for the Holland Tunnel, which connects New Jersey to lower Manhattan, has been cut by nearly half.

Congestion pricing is expected to raise $15 billion to modernize subway signals from the 1930s, make more stations accessible and extend the Second Avenue subway to Harlem. Without that new revenue, the MTA and state lawmakers will need to find an alternative funding source or postpone vital infrastructure projects meant to improve service and attract more riders.

Duffy is expected to terminate an agreement called a value pricing pilot program that the Federal Highway Administration entered into with the MTA and New York officials on Nov. 21. That program allows US transportation agencies to reduce congestion on highways through tolling and other fees.

Roadways in Texas, Florida and California have used such agreements and reversing MTA’s own pact with the FHWA could put other states’ deals at risk, Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chief executive officer, said on Jan. 31 at an event in New York City.

“Even if you’re a conservative Republican from red state, that the idea that the federal government would summarily rescind agreements with states and localities - that has national implications,” Lieber said.

Trump’s move to end congestion pricing will probably face legal challenges. It’s likely the MTA and Kathy Hochul could file suit against the FHWA to reinstate congestion pricing. Riders Alliance, which advocates for more reliable and affordable mass transit in New York City, took legal action last year to advance the tolling program after Hochul temporarily paused it in June and may fight against Trump’s decision.

“We would absolutely do everything we can to defend the program,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance.

Hochul contends that the federal government doesn’t have the legal authority to block the program. “It’s been established and all the requirements of the federal government were met,” she said in a February interview with NY1.

The toll began on Jan. 5, with E-ZPass passenger cars paying $9 during peak hours to drive south of 60th Street, with the West Side Highway and the FDR Drive exempt from the charge. State lawmakers approved the initiative in 2019 to reduce traffic in one of the most congested urban areas in the world, improve air quality and offer the MTA another funding source for infrastructure investment.

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—With assistance from Laura Nahmias.