In order to avoid the cancellation of congestion pricing plan after Donald Trump takes office next year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul will announce a reduction in tolls on congestion pricing starting today, November 14th. The base rate will be lowered from $15 to $9, and toll collection is expected to start before the end of this year.
Governor Hochul’s office issued a statement on November 13th, saying, “Governor Hochul is suspending congestion pricing because the current $15 toll per day is too high for hardworking New Yorkers given the current economic situation. On Thursday, the Governor will announce funding for public transportation, street congestion relief, and improvement of public health pathways.”
ABC reported that Hochul will announce the reduced toll rates at 1 pm on the 14th, with the base rate not going below $9 without the need for federal environmental review, but the possibility of future increases is not ruled out.
It is anticipated that Governor Hochul may reintroduce toll collection before the end of the year. Republican Congresswoman Nicole Maliotakis and Mike Lawler, along with bipartisan state representatives, gathered in New York City on Tuesday, November 12th, urging Hochul not to implement congestion pricing.
Congresswoman Maliotakis’s district covers Staten Island, where residents will have to pay tolls along with congestion pricing when entering Manhattan’s central business district. Maliotakis spoke at the gathering, saying, “We will not let you advance congestion pricing without a fight. We will fight until congestion pricing disappears completely.”
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) had planned to start implementing congestion pricing at the end of June this year for vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street, charging $15. However, Governor Hochul halted the project in early June, citing “consideration for people’s cost.” While many citizens supported the move, it also sparked strong discontent from environmental groups and progressive Democrats who support the project.
It is currently expected that Hochul may lower the congestion pricing from $15 to $9 before the end of the year, just before Trump’s inauguration on January 20th – as Trump had previously expressed his intention to abolish congestion pricing.
“Governors should learn to understand and listen to the will of the people. The people have clearly expressed that they do not want to be taxed in this manner,” Maliotakis said she has personally spoken with Trump about congestion pricing, and Trump not only opposes it but also plans to put a stop to it from a federal legislative standpoint, either before or after its implementation.
Congressman Lawler referred to congestion pricing as a “scam” and pointed out that the $1 billion annual revenue collected from tolls is to make up the $15 billion needed to support the “bloated” and “poorly managed” operations of the MTA. Lawler stated that he and Maliotakis have proposed in Congress to abolish congestion pricing.
Democratic New York State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton has proposed in the State Senate that individuals who have already paid tolls at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge should not have to pay an additional congestion fee. She has also joined the lawsuit on congestion pricing filed in January by Republican Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT).
Senator Scarcella-Spanton stated at the gathering that congestion pricing will not only impact people’s finances but also make the local air quality worse, as indicated by the MTA’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). She urged Hochul not to restart congestion pricing but to “make this plan fail.”
While it is widely rumored that Hochul and the MTA will reintroduce congestion pricing by the end of the year, both parties have not officially responded. The MTA’s congestion pricing page still states, “Central Business District Tolling Program is suspended pending necessary approvals.”
Republican state representatives who participated in the November 12th gathering included State Senator Andrew Lanza, State Assembly Members Michael Tannousis, Michael Reilly, Jaime Williams, City Council Members Joseph Borelli, David Carr, Borough President Vito Fossella, and Democratic City Council Member Kamillah Hanks.