The U.S. Division of Transportation rescinded its approval of New York Metropolis’s congestion pricing program on Wednesday in a letter to the state’s governor.
The division, underneath President Donald Trump’s administration, launched a letter from Secretary Sean Duffy it stated it despatched to Gov. Kathy Hochul concerning its resolution to “terminate” approval of the congestion pricing pricing program, which it had initially granted on Nov. 21 underneath the Biden administration.
Duffy stated the congestion pricing program is past the scope of the approval for a “Value Pricing Pilot Program” approved by Congress, partly, as a result of it seems to be “driven primarily by the need to raise revenue for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) system as opposed to the need to reduce congestion.”
DOT boss Duffy stated his division would work with New York state officers to “discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations under this terminated pilot project.” It is unclear if the federal authorities succeeds in killing congestion pricing, when that might occur.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber stated the company is able to combat the administration in federal court docket.
“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,” Lieber stated in a press release. “It’s mystifying that after 4 years and 4,000 pages of federally-supervised environmental overview – and barely three months after giving last approval to the Congestion Aid Program – USDOT would search to completely reverse course.”
President Trump posted on Fact Social weighing on his Transportation Division’s congestion pricing resolution.
Trump Fact Social put up on congestion pricing
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” the president posted on his Fact Social account.
White Home Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded with a “100” emoji from her official authorities account.
In what seemed to be a response to the president’s put up, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted a press release on social media saying partly, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”
It is unclear when a federal court docket will weigh in, how lengthy the method may take and if congestion pricing will probably be allowed to proceed within the interim.
A short while after the president’s earlier put up, the official White Home account posted a mock up of a “TRUMP” journal cowl of the president sporting a crown in entrance of the New York Metropolis skyline. “LONG LIVE THE KING,” learn the headline.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” –President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/IMr4tq0sMB
— The White Home (@WhiteHouse) February 19, 2025
