Is congestion pricing terminated in NYC after being in effect for only a month and a half?
Straphangers were curious about the future of the controversial plan, as the president moved to revoke federal approval for the new traffic law on Wednesday, February 19th. According to reports, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul revealing the news.
Following this move, the MTA officials filed a lawsuit against the federal Department of Transportation.
“It’s mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally supervised environmental review – and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program – USDOT would seek to totally reverse course,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber wrote in a statement.
Is Congestion Pricing terminated?
As the state and federal government go back and forth on the issue, what does this mean for travelers? The program will still continue until a court ruling changes the course.
“The status quo is that congestion pricing continues, and unless and until a court orders otherwise, plaintiffs will continue to operate the program as required by New York law,” the MTA wrote in a statement.
The plan, which is considered to be effective at this point in time, had multi purposes: to eliminate traffic, to improve air quality throughout the city, and potentially raise $1 billion annually for the MTA to make the necessary repairs and adjustments to subways, commuter trains, and buses.
In response to this news, Governor Kathy Hochul released a statement and said, “Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever. Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10 percent. Transit ridership is up, drivers are having a better experience, and support for this program is growing every day.”
We’ll be sure to keep you updated at this story develops.