The crackdown on traffic jams in New York City might just be coming to an end. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced on Wednesday that it has terminated the city's congestive pricing program — which now faces a legal challenge.
The move reverses the November 21 green-lighting from the Biden administration, which was approved under the federal government's Value Pricing Pilot Program. The two main reasons, according to the Federal Highway Administration for the termination, are due to the many drivers not offered a toll-free option and the rate was mainly set to only raise revenue for transit as opposed to solely reducing traffic in the city.
FHA Secretary Sean P. Duffy, called the program, which raises passenger and small commercial fees to $9 during peak hours on vehicles entering Manhattan below 60 Street, a "slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners."
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"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," he said in a statement.
"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."
Duffy, who also sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul informing her of the decision, added that the program could make the cost of goods more expensive because it raises costs for trucks.
While the FHA said the move would end NYC's cordon-tolling pricing plan, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which provides local buses, subway, and railroad services in the area, has filed a lawsuit.
“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," MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber, said in a statement.
Hochul in a statement of her own said that the lawsuit aims to "preserve" the "critical program."
Since the congestive price program began on January 5th, 2025, it has reduced traffic in Manhattan significantly. During the first week, the program was implemented, the MTA said that 273,000 fewer vehicles entered Manhattan below 60 Street.
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