The transportation secretary said he would revoke federal approval for the program, citing the cost to motorists; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move.
The transportation secretary said he would revoke federal approval for the program, citing the cost to motorists; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move.
President Trump had raised concerns that the new tolling program, the first of its kind in America, was drawing visitors and businesses from Manhattan.
President Trump intends to revoke federal approval of New York City’s congestion pricing program, fulfilling a campaign promise to reverse the policy that tolls drivers who enter Manhattan’s busiest streets to finance repairs to mass transit.
In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the president’s transportation secretary outlined Mr. Trump’s objections to the program, the first of its kind in the country, and said that federal officials would contact the state to “discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations.”
The program started on Jan. 5 and charged most drivers $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, an area that includes some of the city’s most famous destinations like Times Square and the Empire State Building.
The plan aimed to discourage drivers from entering the congestion zone. It also hoped to clear pollution from Manhattan’s core while helping to raise $15 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs New York City’s transit system.
But Mr. Trump has said that he would end the tolls because he claimed that they were drawing visitors and businesses away from Manhattan. Observers have speculated that he would try to withdraw federal approval for the plan or threaten to withhold federal funding.
Already, early data suggested that gridlock had lessened during program’s initial weeks as fewer drivers piled into the tolled area.