Trump works to end NYC congestion pricing

President Trump made good on a promise to end New York City’s controversial congestion pricing plan on Wednesday, revoking support granted by The Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish the toll.

In a letter penned by DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, the federal government announced it’s decision to “terminate” approval of the congestion pricing program, which was originally granted on November 21 by the Biden administration. 

Duffy wrote that the congestion pricing program is beyond the scope of the approval for a “Value Pricing Pilot Program” authorized by Congress, as it is“driven primarily by the need to raise revenue for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) system as opposed to the need to reduce congestion.”

Duffy asserted that his letter was shared with New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, though the Governor denies having received a copy of Duffy’s announcement.

Trump’s move to end congestion pricing was lauded by Rockland representatives who have long decried the $40 million annual value gap between the county’s contributions to the MTA and the services received.

“Thank you to President Trump and his administration for ending congestion pricing. Rockland County has been treated like an ATM for the MTA for far too long, and we refuse to be a doormat any longer. Fighting against this unfair toll has been one of my biggest priorities while running for and serving in the New York State Senate. Now, we must ensure that congestion pricing remains a thing of the past—for the sake of our hardworking Rockland County commuters,” wrote state senator Bill Weber (R 38) in a statement shared with the RCT. 

It is unclear at time of publication how and when the toll will be reversed. Currently NYC will still charge drivers up to $9 to enter Manhattan under 60th Street during peak periods — 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.

Both Governor Hochul and MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber have vowed to fight the president’s decision. Lieber announced on Wednesday in a statement shared with the Associated Press that the MTA has already filed papers in federal court in response to the DOT’s letter. “Today, the MTA filed papers in federal court to ensure that the highly successful program – which has already dramatically reduced congestion, bringing reduced traffic and faster travel times, while increasing speeds for buses and emergency vehicles – will continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away from the millions of mass transit users, pedestrians and, especially, the drivers who come to the Manhattan Central Business District, it is mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally-supervised environmental review – and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program – USDOT would seek to totally reverse course.”