Trump Administration Ends NYC Congestion Pricing Shortly After Launch

The Trump administration has officially shut down New York City’s congestion pricing program, which had been actively charging drivers a $9 toll to enter lower Manhattan. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced on Wednesday, February 19th, that it had rescinded federal approval for the program, halting an ongoing tolling system that many New Yorkers called an unfair tax.

In a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the administration was revoking the tolling authorization granted under the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP), arguing that the policy unfairly burdened working-class Americans and small businesses.

“Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes,” Duffy wrote. “But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways.”

The congestion pricing program, which had been in effect since January 5th, required drivers to pay a mandatory $9 toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours, with a reduced charge overnight. The revenue was intended to fund improvements to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) aging infrastructure while easing traffic congestion in the city’s busiest corridors.

However, Duffy argued that the program contradicted federal highway policies, which generally prohibit tolling on federally funded roads unless Congress grants an exemption. He further contended that the tolling structure primarily served as a revenue-raising mechanism for transit rather than a congestion reduction strategy, violating the intent of the VPPP.

President Donald Trump, who had long opposed congestion pricing, celebrated the decision in a Truth Social post: “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

Governor Hochul and the MTA swiftly condemned the administration’s decision and vowed to challenge it in court. “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” Hochul said at a rally in Grand Central Terminal.