NYC congestion pricing generates nearly $50M in 1st month as Trump admin moves to kill plan
New York City's congestion pricing toll generated nearly $50 million in revenue in its first month, officials said Monday, as the Trump administration moves to kill the first-in-the-nation program.
From Jan. 5, the first day of the program, to Jan. 31, tolls from the congestion pricing program generated $48.66 million, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which manages the city's subways as well as bridges and commuter rails.
The net revenue for that period was $37.5 million when taking into account expenses to run the program, the MTA said.
The program is on track to generate $500 million in net revenue by the end of this year, as initially projected, the MTA said.
"With an initial performance in line with projections, we can confidently move forward with projects that rely on funds from the Congestion Relief Zone," MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens said in a statement. "We look forward to seeing similar results in the coming months."
The update comes after the U.S. Department of Transportation last week said it pulled federal approval of the plan following a review requested by President Donald Trump.
The review found that the "scope of this pilot project as approved exceeds the authority authorized by Congress" under the Federal Highway Administration's Value Pricing Pilot Program, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday.
Trump celebrated the DOT's move, saying on his social media platform Truth Social, "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
The MTA said it immediately challenged the Trump administration's reversal in federal court. The MTA is seeking a declaratory judgment from the court that the DOT's move is "not proper" and is not turning off the tolls under the program until there's a court order, Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday.
Duffy, who called the plan "unfair," told CBS News on Wednesday that he'd be open to some form of congestion pricing while questioning the price of the NYC toll.
The congestion pricing plan charges passenger vehicles $9 to access Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours as part of an effort to ease congestion and raise funds for the city's public transit system. During peak hours, small trucks and charter buses are charged $14.40 and large trucks and tour buses pay $21.60.
According to the MTA's findings, 68% of the $48.66 million in revenue generated in January came from passenger vehicles, 22% from taxis and for-hire vehicles, 9% from trucks and 1% from buses and motorcycles.
New York officials have touted the success of the program in easing traffic, with Hochul saying last week that congestion has "dropped dramatically" since the program went into effect last month.
