


The Trump administration and New York have agreed to allow New York City’s congestion pricing to continue through late October, according to a new court filing.
The agreement is a reprieve for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who has defended the price model. Congestion pricing began in January, with the goals of reducing traffic and raising $15 billion for needed mass-transit upgrades in the New York City area.
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President Donald Trump has voiced his opposition to the plan, which charges drivers in lower Manhattan a $9 toll during peak traffic times. It is unclear if the administration will force New York, by unknown means, to end the practice earlier. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said he would like the program to end by April 20.
The court filing includes a series of dates with a new timeline to allow the case to go through the courts, with the goal of reaching a conclusion by late October. Recent polling shows that about 60% of New Yorkers think congestion pricing should remain in place.
Duffy originally ordered an end to congestion pricing by March 21, later extending that by 30 days.
Hochul vowed to defy the order.
“At 1 p.m. today, the U.S. Department of Transportation emailed us a letter from Secretary Duffy announcing their attempt to end the congestion pricing program in the state of New York. At 1:58 p.m. President Donald Trump tweeted, ‘Long live the king.’ I’m here to say New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years,” Hochul said at the time. “We are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington.”
The program appears to be working. In March, about 2.5 million fewer vehicles entered the congestion pricing zone compared with the historical average, marking a 13% decline in traffic, according to data from the MTA. Commute times have also decreased for bus riders, and retail shops and restaurants have not seen a decrease in customers.
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The program has also collected about $100 million in tolls. It is on pace to fund the borrowing of billions for upgrades to the subway, buses, and commuter rail lines, according to the New York Times.
“I think it’s a misuse of the program, and again, taxing people a second time to drive on a road that they already pay for so you can fund your subway system because you can’t figure that out, I find that fundamentally unfair,” Duffy said. “When did we have tiered — a class system — where the rich get to use the roads and the middle-income and poor people don’t get to use the roads? Is that what New York stands for? I don’t think so.”