A federal judge in New York has rejected arguments challenging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s congestion pricing plan — which would charge truck drivers up to $36 for driving into Manhattan — and sided with officials hoping to implement the plan that they tout as a way to decrease traffic and improve transit.
Judge Lewis J. Liman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a 113-page ruling Thursday addressing arguments brought against the toll program, which had been scheduled to go into effect next Sunday until Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an indefinite pause on the program earlier this month. Liman’s opinion has no effect on the pause.
The suit was brought by multiple plaintiffs, including the United Federation of Teachers, Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella and other elected officials.
The Central Business District Tolling Program would charge most drivers $15 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan, while heavy-duty truck drivers would be charged $24 to $36 during peak hours. The Trucking Association of New York filed a separate suit to stop the plan in May, arguing that truck drivers would bear the brunt of the fees.
Opponents of the measure have cited issues with the cost and burden placed on drivers, as well as environmental concerns.
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Liman wrote that the plan’s four-year review process was thorough — spanning 45,000 pages — and adequately covered environmental worries.
The idea of congestion pricing isn’t new — the concept was conceived in 1952, Liman wrote — but it would be the first time the plan was implemented in the United States. Politicians have floated the idea over the years to curb Manhattan traffic but have failed to bring it to fruition. Proponents view it as a necessary way to improve the city’s aging infrastructure by creating a fund for projects.
“The policy’s fate remains uncertain,” Liman wrote, as other lawsuits remain ongoing and Hochul is no longer backing the plan. The governor said she paused the toll to avoid placing financial burdens on working-class families. Her decision leaves MTA projects in limbo as transportation officials wait to learn the fate of congestion pricing.
“New York State law places an obligation on MTA to implement a congestion pricing program, and the agency stands ready to do so,” MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens and MTA General Counsel Paige Graves said in a joint statement. “But under applicable federal law and regulation, the MTA cannot act until the Central Business District Tolling Program is approved by New York State, New York City and the federal government — and with the announcement of the pause, we no longer have the State’s consent.”