NRDC: No Legal Basis for Transportation Dept. to Halt Congestion Pricing

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority quickly filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday after the U.S. Transportation Secretary said it would reverse federal approval for the MTA’s congestion pricing program.

Standing alongside MTA leaders in Manhattan Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul defended the pricing plan implemented last month. It charges most drivers $9 to enter lower Manhattan. The Democrat said the lawsuit is about New York’s sovereignty.

Tim Bruno spoke to Eric A. Goldstein, senior attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), which has advocated for congestion pricing for more than a decade.

MTA data showed that traffic in Manhattan has declined since the launch of the tolls. Travel times across bridges and tunnels into the toll zone sped up.

Hochul, a Democrat, initially balked at a planned base fare of $15 as too expensive, prompting her to delay the launch of the program from last June until early 2025. But she’s said the tolls are working as intended under the $9 fare.

Republicans, meanwhile, have seized on congestion pricing as an unfair tax on drivers. Trump has said it’s bad for Manhattan’s economy. Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler, who is weighing a run for governor against Hochul, has relentlessly slammed the tolls as a cash grab.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has echoed many of those criticisms and urged Trump to halt the tolls.