Trump moves to end NYC congestion pricing. Here's a timeline of the controversial toll.
Congestion pricing is on the ropes in New York City, as President Trump appears to be making good on a promise to kill the first-in-the-nation toll.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to New Yok Gov. Kathy Hochul last month, pulling the federal approval for the program. The MTA now faces a new deadline to turn off the tolls, but the agency says they're staying on as the legal fight continues.
While the next steps remain to be seen, here's a look back at how the plan came to be.
History of congestion pricing: The early years
Congestion pricing was nearly 20 years in the making before it became a reality in New York City.
Taking a page from other cities like Singapore and London, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg first proposed the plan in April 2007.
In an Earth Day address from the American Museum of Natural History, Bloomberg unveiled what he called "PlaNYC," a sweeping vision to make the city more sustainable.
"The time has come for New York to try congestion pricing: a carefully-designed charge for drivers in part of Manhattan during business hours. This solution is bold. It is also proven. Cities around the world have shown that congestion pricing can reduce congestion and speed travel times with no significant negative impact on economic activity," the plan read in part.
Under the initial proposal, most drivers would have been charged $8 to enter Manhattan below 86th Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The proposal called for exemptions for transit and emergency vehicles, taxis and handicap license plates.
The proposal reached the state Legislature, where a commission revised the plan, removing Manhattan's Upper East and West sides from the congestion zone, and calling for drivers to only be charged in the inbound direction.
Despite securing federal funding and City Council approval, the proposal was met with opposition in the state Assembly, particularly from the city's outer boroughs. Lawmakers blocked a vote to advance the plan before the funding deadline, effectively killing it.
Congestion pricing's (first) comeback
More than a decade after it was first introduced, reports surfaced in August 2017 that then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo wanted to resurrect the toll. He appointed what he called a "Fix NYC" commission to explore ways to alleviate traffic in Manhattan while funding improvements for the MTA.
"These are difficult choices, but difficult choices don't get easier by ignoring them," Cuomo said in his State of the State address in January 2018, including the plan in his budget proposal. Days later, the commission recommended a $11.52 toll for peak trips below 60th Street.
Then-Mayor Bill de Blasio initially came out against congestion pricing, favoring a millionaire's tax instead. He eventually hopped on board and endorsed it, as he and the governor announced a 10-point plan to fix the MTA.
Following a brief legal delay, the first congestion surcharge took effect in February 2019, targeting for-hire vehicles below 96th Street in Manhattan. It added $2.50 to base taxi fares and $2.75 for ride-share vehicles.
The next month, state lawmakers approved the broader toll in the budget, and started hammering out the details for other drivers. Months of debate ensued, as residents and lawmakers from the city, Long Island and New Jersey waited to learn how the tolls would work.
Congestion pricing was slated to start in January 2021, but the plan hit another snag from the federal government in February 2020, and then came the COVID-19 pandemic. The feds eventually gave the green light for the MTA to move forward with an environmental assessment in March 2021, and the political debate picked back up.
Later that year, Cuomo stepped down in a sexual misconduct scandal, and the project then fell to Hochul.
Current battle over congestion pricing
In the summer of 2023, the feds approved the plan, clearing another hurdle. Several lawsuits were filed to stop the rollout, as the MTA's Traffic Mobility Review Board met to determine how much drivers would be charged, and the first toll scanners were installed.
Later that winter, the board recommended a $15 toll for most vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
Following a public comment period, the full MTA board voted on March 27, 2024 to adopt the recommended fees, discounts and exemptions. A month later, the agency said the new tolls would start on Sunday, June 30.
Then, just weeks before congestion pricing was supposed to begin, Hochul made the stunning announcement to pause the program.
"After careful consideration, I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system risks too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers at this time. For that reason, I have directed the MTA to indefinitely pause the program," the governor said in a video statement on June 5.
The sudden pause left the MTA scrambling to fund several projects, and it was met with another round of lawsuits.
Then in November, after the 2024 general election, Hochul announced she was resurrecting the toll at a cheaper rate of $9 for most trips into Manhattan. The MTA approved the lower toll, and the feds also signed off later that month.
Despite a last-ditch legal fight, the congestion pricing tolls went into effect on Sunday, Jan. 5.
After the first three weeks, the MTA said travel speeds appeared to be improving, and more people were taking mass transit.
Nonetheless, opponents continued to ask Mr. Trump and the federal government to kill the controversial toll. Late last month, CBS News New York learned the president had been in talks with the governor about the future of the program.
Hochul then canceled a meeting with Mr. Trump about congestion pricing after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against New York over its Green Light Law that allows undocumented immigrants to apply for drivers' licenses.
On Feb. 19, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it was terminating a November 2024 agreement with the state. The MTA quickly responded, saying it was filing court papers to make sure the program stays in place.
The DOT initially set a March 21 deadline to turn off the tolls, but later pushed it back another 30 days.
