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Just a week after the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration informed Governor Kathy Hochul of its decision to withdraw approval for the congestion pricing plan, the Federal Highway Administration's Executive Director, Gloria Shepherd, issued a letter to the MTA, ordering the agency to terminate the program by March 21.
"In order to provide NYSDOT and its project sponsors time to terminate operations of this pilot project in an orderly manner, this rescission of approval and termination of the November 21, 2024 Agreement will be effective on March 21, 2025," reads the note.
The letter was made public and the decision stood firm despite Hochul's efforts to persuade the federal government to reconsider. The politician met with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., last week to argue for preserving the program, which, according to the MTA, generated $37.7 million in January—on track to raise $500 million in its first year.
To be clear: nothing is really certain quite yet. After approval was rescinded 10 days ago, the MTA sued the U.S. Department of Transportation, specifically arguing that the federal government does not have the authority to put an end to the program. MTA Chair Janno Lieber doubled down on that position during a news conference, announcing that the tolling cameras would stay up until a federal judge ordered their removal.
"The important thing is there’s going to be no cessation unless a court orders it and we now have a matter pending in front of the Southern District [of New York]," said Lieber in an official statement. "We’re very very optimistic about where this next one is headed."
At the moment, we're in limbo: driving into Manhattan's congestion zone will, for now, continue to incur a fee of at least $9. Whether that's going to be the case by the end of March is, however, yet to be determined.