The U.S. Department of Transportation pulled its approval for the MTA’s congestion pricing toll program. However, the MTA will sue in federal court to ensure the plan will continue.
The DOT’s Federal Highway Administration said it sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul informing her that the department had rescinded the agreement.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working-class Americans and small business owners,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“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. The program also hurts small businesses in New York that rely on customers from New Jersey and Connecticut. Finally, it impedes the flow of commerce into New York by increasing costs for trucks, which in turn could make goods more expensive for consumer. Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means. It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few.”
Duffy said in the letter to Hochul that the plan is being terminated for two reasons:
1.) The scope of the CBDTP is unprecedented and provides no toll-free option for many drivers who want or need to travel by vehicle in this major urbanized area.
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2.) The toll rate was set primarily to raise revenue for transit rather than at an amount needed to reduce congestion.
MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber released a statement 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’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.”
Launched on Jan. 5, the city’s system uses license plate readers to impose a $9 toll on most passenger cars entering Manhattan neighborhoods south of Central Park.
It reduced traffic barely moderately.
It’s just another money grab.
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