Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Transportation may take action to withhold funding and approvals for highway projects in Manhattan beginning May 28 if New York does not end its congestion pricing program today, a DOT spokesperson confirmed in an emailed statement Tuesday.
- An April 21 letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned the state “risks serious consequences” if it fails to comply with the Trump administration’s Feb. 19 revocation of the Federal Highway Administration’s prior approval of the tolling program.
- In a statement to news media in April, a spokesperson for Hochul said, “The program is working. Traffic is down, business is up and the cameras are staying on.”
Dive Insight:
Before he was elected to a second term, President Donald Trump voiced his opposition to New York’s congestion pricing plan in a May 2024 social media post vowing to “terminate” the program. Duffy called the program “a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners” in a Feb. 19 news release.
“As stated in the April 21 letter, New York Governor Hochul has until no later than May 21st to respond to the Department. Following that deadline, and consideration of the Governor’s response, [the Federal Highway Administration] may implement compliance actions as soon as May 28th,” the DOT spokesperson said.
The tolling plan is designed to reduce traffic congestion in Manhattan’s central business district and raise funds for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital investments. Early data show it is working. The state announced March 21 that traffic in the affected area was down 11% in February over the same period in 2024 and public transit ridership in the first two months of this year rose between 4% and 9% compared to the same period the year before…