Congestion pricing—the transformative strategy that would inject massive new funds into the nation’s largest transit system, untangle congestion in Manhattan’s traffic-plagued central business district, and slice car and truck air pollution emissions—has hit an eleventh hour roadblock.
Governor Kathy Hochul has directed New York City’s regional public transit agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), “to indefinitely pause the program,” which had been scheduled to go into effect beginning June 30.
The governor’s surprising and shattering announcement has created a fiscal earthquake that leaves a gaping hole in the MTA’s capital budget and jeopardizes the system’s ability to deliver safe and reliable transit service to millions of daily transit riders.
The congestion pricing program would charge auto drivers entering Manhattan at or below…