Last year, Donald Trump vowed to terminate congestion pricing in New York City if reelected. One month into his second term, President Trump has kept his promise.
In a letter issued Wednesday, Feb. 19, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul that the Federal Highway Administration has revoked its approval of the Central Business District Tolling Program, better known as congestion pricing. Hochul’s office could not be immediately reached for comment.
“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. “Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair.”
Duffy began reviewing the congestion pricing program in light of numerous legal challenges and concerns, including a letter from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and issues raised by Trump. He concluded that the program “exceeds the authority authorized by Congress under (the Value Pricing Pilot Program).”
Tolling existing lanes on federally funded highways is prohibited. The Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) carves out an exception for 15 states. However, any tolling project must receive FHWA’s approval before moving forward. The New York State Department of Transportation received that approval for congestion pricing in November 2024, but Duffy found the program is not eligible under VPPP for two reasons.
First, Duffy called New York City’s congestion pricing “unprecedented,” as it gives motorists no toll-free option.
All tolling schemes that have been approved under Value Pricing Pilot Program allow motorists to use other routes to avoid tolls. Duffy said Congress never authorized “a situation where tolls are inescapable.”
Second, Duffy argued that the congestion pricing program is primarily a revenue scheme for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, with reducing congestion being a secondary priority. Specifically, he claimed that toll rates are set to meet MTA’s budgetary needs rather than the amount of funding needed for congestion reduction. Consequently, the program goes against the purpose of the VPPP, which is to reduce congestion, not fund transit.
“To be sure, the termination of the program may deprive the transit system of funding, but any reliance on that funding stream was not reasonable given that FHWA approved only a ‘pilot project,’” Duffy stated in the letter. “Finally, any reliance interests cannot overcome the conclusion that FHWA’s approval was not authorized by law.”
Although the letter indicates that FHWA will revoke its approval for congestion pricing, it is not known when the program will officially end. Anticipating the move, MTA has already begun its legal challenge.
“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,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement. “It’s 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.”
Trucking industry welcomes the end of ‘anti-trucker’ toll
In the letter, Duffy noted that congestion pricing hurts small businesses and mentioned its costs for truck drivers.
“Finally, it impedes the flow of commerce into New York by increasing costs for trucks, which in turn could make goods more expensive for consumers,” he stated. “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 Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association welcomed Duffy’s decision to pull approval for New York’s congestion pricing. The Association said that the program was especially problematic for owner-operators and other truckers who have little control over their schedules.
“We routinely have no other choice than to drive through metropolitan areas during periods of high congestion because of the rigidity of current federal hours-of-service requirements,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “Additionally, shippers and receivers generally have little regard for a driver’s schedule, frequently requiring loading and unloading to occur at times when nearby roads are most congested. New York City’s congestion pricing plan was anti-trucker to begin with, and we will continue fighting to ensure it doesn’t come back. Beyond New York City, we encourage the Trump administration and Congress to fight the expansion of tolling across the country.”
The Trucking Association of New York echoed Duffy’s claims of increased operational costs for trucking companies and higher prices for consumers while calling congestion pricing “deeply and inherently flawed.”
The association calls for investment in other congestion-reducing initiatives, including New York’s growing microhubs program, off-peak hours delivery incentives and operator subsidies for electric vehicle conversion.
“We stand with President Trump and Secretary Duffy in their efforts to end the congestion pricing program,’ Trucking Association of New York President Kendra Hems said in a statement. “We agree with their decision to halt this program, and we hope it leads to an immediate cessation of the collection of tolls.”
Last May, the Trucking Association of New York filed a federal lawsuit against the MTA. Unlike the numerous other federal lawsuits challenging congestion pricing, the trucking association said that it is “not fundamentally opposed to congestion pricing.” Rather, the association wanted to get rid of the approved toll rates and replace them with a pricing structure that reduces adverse impacts and introduces parity for the logistics industry. LL
Credit: Source link
