New York headed for showdown on congestion pricing

(The Center Square) — New York officials say congestion pricing will continue beyond a Friday deadline set by the Trump administration to wind down the controversial tolling program.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul in February saying the Federal Highway Administration was pulling its approval of congestion pricing and would work with New York State on an “orderly termination of the tolls." Duffy called congestion pricing a “slap in the face” to working-class Americans and small business owners and set a deadline of Friday to shut the program down.

But Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair/CEO Janno Lieber said Tuesday that the tolling program will likely continue past Friday's deadline, despite Duffy's directive. He said the federal government doesn’t have the legal authority to turn off the tolls without a court order, noting that the Trump administration's attorneys haven't yet filed for an injunction to halt the project.

"Things don’t change unless a court orders it, and that has not taken place," Lieber told reporters on Tuesday. "We are very confident that there won’t be a rollback of congestion pricing.”

New York’s first-in-the-nation toll for drivers entering Manhattan's Congestion Relief Zone during peak hours got underway on Jan. 5 after a U.S. District Court judge denied New Jersey’s last-ditch push to keep the plan from going into effect. Under the program, most passenger cars and trucks pay a $9 toll between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends.

Since the program’s implementation, New York City officials have reported faster commutes for drivers and less traffic congestion, and the MTA says the revenue it is generating will put the agency on track to meet its funding goals.

Trump, a native New Yorker who now lives in Florida, has been urged by the state's Republican lawmakers to kill the program. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to "terminate" the program when he takes over the presidency.

New York officials say the toll will reduce tailpipe pollution and drum up more funding for the cash-strapped MTA, which operates New York City's fleet of buses, trains and subway cars.

Shortly after Duffy's announcement, the MTA filed a legal challenge to preserve the program, which was previously approved under the Biden administration.

Two weeks ago, environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit to keep the program going, arguing that Duffy's order was "illegal" and included "serious legal mistakes" in the "rush" to terminate the program.