Trump administration orders halt to NYC toll meant to fight traffic and fund mass transit

Trump administration halts NYC congestion pricing tolls, sparking legal battle over traffic reduction and transit funding.

President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday (February 19, 2025) ordered a halt to congestion pricing tolls in New York City, which thin traffic and fund mass transit by making people pay to drive into Manhattan's core.

Launched on Jan. 5, the city’s system uses license plate readers to impose a $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan neighborhoods south of Central Park. In its early days, transit officials said the toll has brought modest but measurable traffic reductions.

The federal government has rescinded its approval of the programme, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced Wednesday, calling the toll's financial burden “a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”

The Federal Highway Administration will work with the state on an “orderly termination of the tolls,” according to the statement.

Within minutes of the announcement, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency that runs the New York City subway and other public transit, filed a federal lawsuit to keep congestion pricing alive.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said the toll program would continue while the lawsuit plays out.

The president, whose namesake Trump Tower penthouse and other properties are within the congestion zone, vowed to kill the plan as soon as he took office. The Republican declared victory on his social networking site Truth Social after the Transportation Department announcement.