The Trump administration wants New York City to end its congesting pricing, an automatic toll program designed to reduce the bumper-to-bumper traffic in the city’s business area from 60th Street and below. But New York’s governor is fighting back.
In a letter dated Feb. 20 and made public Wednesday, Gloria Shepherd, executive director of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), informed New York City and state transportation officials that FHWA officials would contact them "to discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations" under the Central Business District Tolling Program. Shepherd said termination of the program should be effective March 21.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transit Authority have filed a lawsuit to prevent ending the toll operation that the federal authorities approved and that has yielded millions of dollars for New York City since it began in January.
Hochul told a recent MTA board meeting that while the federal government has called for an "orderly cessation" of the program, she is proposing "orderly resistance."
"I guarantee that the president has never had to endure missing a child's sporting event because they were stuck on a delayed train. Never had to stand in a flooded subway station because we were not able to make the repairs. Not sitting in traffic, missing an important meeting because you couldn't get around," Hochul told the MTA board.
The congestion pricing program began Jan. 5. The revenue from the tolls from Jan. 5 to Jan. 31 totaled $48.66 million, with a net of $37.5 million.
The toll program is on track to generate about $500 million for the MTA by year's end, MTA CEO Janno Lieber said, allowing the authority to progress with its plans for bus, subway and transit improvements.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
