The Trump administration said Wednesday it is canceling federal approval of New York City’s controversial congestion-pricing program that charged vehicles a toll for entering busy parts of Manhattan.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the scope of the program is “unprecedented” and provided no toll-free option for many drivers, including working people whose taxes contributed to highway construction. He also objected to the program’s toll amount, which was set based on what’s needed to fund public transit rather than as an incentive to lower auto traffic.
“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,” Mr. Duffy said. “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 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which governs public transportation in the metro area, said it is challenging the move in court. Ending the toll would force the authority, it said, to find another way to raise $1 billion a year for its transportation plans.
“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,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.
The decision is a setback for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who pushed the program earlier this year after fits and starts. Some New Yorkers also said the program was having its desired effect, reducing auto pollution and making midtown Manhattan less congested and more pleasant for pedestrians and bikers.
The MTA said it reduced congestion and improved travel speeds for buses and emergency vehicles.
Yet there were gripes about the toll from small businesses who rely on customers coming from outside Manhattan and drivers from New Jersey and Connecticut who used their cars to enter the city.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, was a vocal opponent of the program, making him an unusual ally on this issue with the Trump team instead of Ms. Hochul.
Critics said the program might have been designed to boost public transportation, but for now, they were forced into an unreliable transit system.
The federal transportation agency is rescinding a Nov. 21 agreement under the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) that authorized the $9 toll on vehicles that traveled below 60th Street in Manhattan.
Mr. Duffy said that except for limited exceptions allowed by Congress, roads constructed with federal highway fund aid cannot be charged tolls. His department said it would work with the project’s leaders on an “orderly termination of the tolls.”
“Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means,” Mr. Duffy said. “It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few.”
No date was given on when the federal approval will be withdrawn, though GOP lawmakers in the region hailed President Trump, a Florida resident who built his name and brand in central Manhattan.
“President Trump is a New Yorker who understands the negative impact this additional toll had on my constituents, local businesses and our city’s economy,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, New York Republican whose district includes Staten Island and southern Brooklyn.
Michael Gerrard, a professor at Columbia Law School, said Mr. Duffy’s move “does not mean that congestion pricing is dead in the water.”
“The MTA has already gone to court to declare the order invalid,” he said. “It will be up to a judge. Meanwhile, they’re not shutting it down.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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