Trump Says He Might Use U.S. Transit Agency to ‘Kill’ Congestion Pricing
President Trump said that he was considering using the federal Department of Transportation to “kill” congestion pricing, which he claimed was deterring people from coming into Manhattan.
But Mr. Trump, in a weekend interview with The New York Post, was vague about how he might try to stop the program. Options could include withholding federal transportation funds or revoking a key federal authorization to toll drivers. He also said that he was still in discussions with Gov. Kathy Hochul about the future of congestion pricing and other matters.
The president also vowed in the interview to eliminate bike lanes, which are approved by the New York City Department of Transportation. “They’re dangerous. These bikes go at 20 miles an hour. They’re whacking people,” he said.
Charging most vehicles a $9 fee to enter Manhattan below 60th Street is “destructive” to New York, the president said.
“If I decide to do it, I will be able to kill it off in Washington through the Department of Transportation,” Mr. Trump said.
Ms. Hochul and President Trump spoke twice in the last week of January about the tolling program, which is designed to reduce congestion and provide billions of dollars in funding for badly needed repairs and upgrades for the subway, buses and commuter railroads.
Staff-level conversations between Governor Hochul’s office and the White House continued last week, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The governor’s staff argued that the program was working, and provided data to back up their claims.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Among the options that President Trump could use to dismantle congestion pricing would be the threat of revoking federal funding from the Department of Transportation or of reopening the environmental review process for the program.
Early results show that congestion pricing has reduced traffic in the congestion zone, increased public transit use and sped up trips for some commuters, according to data released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“Governor Hochul has had several productive calls with President Trump and is happy to talk with anyone, anytime about how this program is benefiting New Yorkers and the entire region,” Avi Small, her press secretary, said.
Ms. Hochul has strongly backed the program as important for the future of New York after having initially halted it in June. She has faced opposition from the governor of New Jersey, Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat, and from Republican elected officials from New York State.
Critics of the plan say it places an unfair burden on drivers from the boroughs outside Manhattan and from the suburbs who lack reliable transit options.
A spokesman for Mr. Murphy, who has described congestion pricing as “a disaster for working- and middle-class New Jersey commuters and residents” in a letter to President Trump, declined to comment.
Representative Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, the only Republican member of New York City’s congressional delegation, said she was pleased that President Trump was “evaluating his options” to “end this unfair congestion tax.”
”My constituents are now being double-tolled to drive into the center of the city in which they live,” Ms. Malliotakis said.
Any effort to end the program would wind up in court where it has been successfully defended in the past, said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance, an advocacy group for public transportation users.
“Congestion pricing has been in the courts in multiple states, and it wins every time because the program was so carefully and thoroughly vetted by multiple federal agencies,” Mr. Pearlstein said. “There’s no taking that back in spite of the political winds.”
Jack Begg contributed research.
