Trump celebrates his plan to end NYC's congestion pricing plan: 'LONG LIVE THE KING'
President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday moved to end the polarizing congestion pricing program that started on Jan. 5 in New York City.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the move will halt the program that charges most drivers $9 to enter much of Manhattan and criticized the toll that “leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways.”
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” the White House posted a mock photo of him on social media wearing a crown.
In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it rescinded a Nov. 21, 2024 agreement signed under the Value Pricing Pilot Program, or VPPP, that effectively ends tolling authority for New York City’s pricing plan.
Under the current plan, passenger vehicles are charged $9 during peak periods in Manhattan south of 60th Street to discourage drivers from entering the highly congested area. Trucks and buses pay up to $21.60. The fee is reduced by 75% at night.
Hochul has said that funds raised from the program would underpin $15 billion in debt financing for mass transit capital improvements. On Wednesday, she said the program had been a great success, reducing commuting times and helping kids on school buses get to classes on time.
“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” she said in a statement.
Congestion pricing, which the city has estimated would bring in $500 million in its first year, was approved in the final months of former President Joe Biden's administration. As it involved tolls on federal highways, it required U.S. approval.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority filed suit in Manhattan on Wednesday, saying the federal government’s withdrawal of approval is “for blatantly political reasons” to uphold a campaign promise to Trump. “The administration’s efforts to summarily and unilaterally overturn the considered determinations of the political branches -- federal, state, and city -- are unlawful, and the court should declare that they are null and void.”
Representative Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, said revoking approval for a federal initiative of such a magnitude is “nearly without precedent.”
“Its approval cannot be arbitrarily revoked, especially when it is clearly delivering tangible benefits,” Nadler said.
Before the fee, New York claimed more than 700,000 vehicles entered Manhattan’s central business district daily, slowing traffic to around 7 miles per hour on average, which is 23% slower than in 2010, according to Reuters.
Reuters contributed to the reporting of this story.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at Paste BN. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.