New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday ordered an indefinite halt to the implementation of the congestion pricing plan that was due to go into effect in Manhattan on June 30. Under the plan, most drivers entering Manhattan at or below 60th Street would face a $15 toll, with trucks and non-exempt buses paying up to $36.
Less than a year after Hochul lauded federal approval of the state’s congestion pricing plan, she said in a video statement, “I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system risks too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers at this time ... I have directed the [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] to indefinitely pause the program.”
Reaction was swift from the tolling plan’s supporters and opponents, including the Trucking Association of New York, which had challenged the policy in court.
Any future congestion pricing effort “must include reform to protect the trucking industry and the supply chain to prevent increased economic hardship for all New Yorkers,” the group’s president, Kendra Hems, said in a statement.
“The congestion pricing plan as written is unconstitutional and unfairly targets trucking and logistics companies, which are charged far higher rates than passenger vehicles,” Hems said. “Given the uncertainty surrounding the plan’s future, we are not dropping our lawsuit against the MTA at this time.”
Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Regional Plan Association, said in an email statement to Smart Cities Dive: “Delaying congestion pricing will only hurt millions of transit riders relying on improvements and hinder the economic success of our broader region.”
Riders Alliance, a transit advocacy organization, called for advocates of the plan to assemble outside the governor’s office on Third Avenue in Manhattan. U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “It’s evident that congestion pricing will significantly benefit the vast majority of commuters who rely on the MTA, rather than a small, vocal minority of drivers who don’t qualify for exemptions or discounts.”
Among those against the tolling plan are New York City taxi drivers, whose passengers would be charged $1.25 per trip to, from or within the tolling district. “We need to address congestion in the Central Business District, but another surcharge on struggling yellow taxi drivers was never the right solution,” said New York Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director Bhairavi Desai in an email statement. “We should be taxing the rich, not the poor to pay for the MTA's budget shortfalls,” she added.
New Jersey political leaders spoke out in support of Hochul’s decision in local news outlets. The state’s governor, Phil Murphy, thanked Gov. Hochul for pausing the implementation of congestion pricing in Manhattan's central business district in a statement to ABC7 Eyewitness News.
The news outlet noted that Hochul’s action today “comes as Democrats are facing difficult House races in the New York City suburbs,” adding that Republicans planned to use congestion pricing against them.
“We call on the Governor to stay firm to her commitment to move congestion pricing forward and not cave to politics,” the Regional Plan Association’s Slevin said in her statement.
