President Trump took a triumphant victory lap after his administration ordered New York to end congestion pricing on Wednesday.
“Congestion pricing is dead. Manhattan, and all of New York, is saved. Long Live The King!,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The president posted a mock cover of Time magazine to Truth Social after announcing the end of congestion pricing. Instagram/White HouseUS Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the decision on Wednesday, penning a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul informing her that the administration would “terminate” approval of the congestion pricing program.
The MTA immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the decision.
The first-in-the-nation congestion toll, which continues to garner mixed feelings from commuters, charges drivers $9 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.
The congestion toll received mixed reviews from commuters, charging drivers $9 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street. Helayne SeidmanDuffy said in his letter to Hochul that the feds would work with New York State on an “orderly termination” of the tolls, but it was not immediately known when the $9 tax would cease being collected.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber slammed the Trump administration’s “baseless effort” to combat congestion pricing, with the agency filing a lawsuit to save the toll.
“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 said in a statement.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber slammed the Trump administration’s “baseless effort” to combat congestion pricing. REUTERSHochul, who was said to have been having high-powered talks with Trump over congestion pricing in recent weeks, sided with the MTA in defending the toll.
“Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future — as a New Yorker, like President Trump, knows very well,” Hochul said in a statement.
“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” she added. “The MTA had initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”
Up until its implementation last month, congestion pricing had remained widely unpopular in the New York area.
The latest surveys, however, suggest the majority of residents in the Big Apple are growing accustomed to the toll.
A Morning Consult survey of 1,200 registered voters last week found that 60% of them believe Trump should allow the controversial program to continue.
Hochul said that since the program took effect, New Yorkers have seen smoother traffic in the usually congested streets.
“Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and comments are getting to work faster than ever,” she said.
“Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10 percent,” she added.
