The new tolls disproportionately hurt poor people and small businesses, and they punish older and handicapped people.
M any drivers are cheering President Trump’s order to end New York City’s $9 congestion toll, a Biden-approved pilot program effective last month. But the Big Apple is lawyering up. Governor Kathleen Hochul is fighting to keep the toll, and the MTA is suing the U.S. Department of Transportation to preserve it.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy explained to Governor Hochul that the DOT is ending the congestion charge as a matter of simple fairness. It’s forcing New Yorkers who have already paid for roads through their taxes to pay again — with no free way to travel to central Manhattan.
And the toll, which began as a DOT pilot program, wasn’t intended to improve New York City roads, but to raise money for public transportation. Governor Hochul plans to raise the toll to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031 — the previously announced toll level, before the governor reduced it.
The MTA’s lawsuit has four major arguments.
1. The department is permitted to start a pilot program, but not to end it. However, according to Florida International University law professor Mario Loyola, “the Supreme Court has consistently recognized the power to undo or modify prior actions . . . suggesting if anything the opposite canon: The power to do something necessarily implies the power to undo it.” If the department has the power to put the program in place, it has the power to end it — especially since it is a pilot program.
2. Removing the program contradicts the “user-pays” models advocated by the Trump administration. Under “user-pays,” toll revenues would pay for improved roads. But here, revenues are paying for the transit system. Duffy listed misuse of revenues as one reason for ending the pilot program. Fewer are using public transit after the pandemic, causing projected transit losses of more than $200 million in 2024 and more than $400 million in 2027 and 2028.
3. According to Trump’s tenets of federalism, New York should be able to toll its own roads. But tolling roads built with federal funds, which include FDR Drive and the West Side Highway, need DOT approval precisely because taxpayers have already paid for the roads. In other interstate toll projects, faster express lanes (accessible through tolls) run next to free lanes, so drivers have an alternative (yet slower) route.
New York’s tolls interfere with interstate commerce and face legal challenges from New Jersey residents who come to New York for business and personal reasons. Trucks, which carry goods from other states, and travelers without EZPass face higher rates. New Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy and Congressman Josh Gottheimer argue that the tolls excessively affect their residents.
4. The department has not conducted a review under the National Environmental Policy Act to end the program. The MTA argues that New York had to provide environmental impact statements before approval of the pilot project, so the DOT should have to provide similar documentation before ending it.
The MTA argues that tolls are needed on “environmental justice” grounds to fund clean-air projects for minorities. But even though low-income individuals can apply for discounts, and handicapped people are exempt, the tolls disproportionately hurt poor people and small businesses, and they punish older people and families with young children who can’t take public transport or afford taxis. It’s no justice to take away the right to personal transportation.
If local politicians desired, New York City could reduce congestion by prioritizing traffic flow on the roads. The Big Apple could get rid of some bike lanes and bike-docking stations that take up valuable road space. It could charge competitive prices for curbside parking to keep some spaces free for delivery vehicles, reducing double-parking and ensuing traffic jams.
New York could also persuade more people to use mass transit by reducing skyrocketing crime, which causes vulnerable people to feel unsafe in subways. Because of crime and taxes, New York City lost over half a million people between 2020 and 2023, about 6 percent of its population. A new tax disguised as a congestion charge won’t solve these problems, but it will drive more people away.
Secretary Duffy’s legal arguments will probably win the day. Thanks to President Trump, giving Mom a ride to lunch won’t cost you an extra $9.