Unless he’s going to ignore a court ruling, he may be getting ahead of himself:
The Trump administration on Wednesday nixed federal approval of New York’s “congestion pricing” automobile tolls, which had been instituted just last month to raise funds for the region’s aging mass transit system.
In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the federal government has jurisdiction over highways leading to Manhattan and that these additional tolls posed an unfair burden in motorists outside the city.
Duffy called the tolls, targeting Manhattan-bound drivers, “backwards and unfair.” “New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy said in statement.
[…]
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday the New York transportation agency will go to court to fight any federal efforts to end the tolls.
“Today, the MTA filed papers in federal court to ensure that the highly successful program — which has already dramatically reduced congestion, bringing reduced traffic and faster travel times, while increasing speeds for buses and emergency vehicles — will continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away,” Lieber said in a statement.
Congestion pricing underwent a thorough federal review and proved its benefits, according to the MTA head. “It’s mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally-supervised environmental review — and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program — USDOT would seek to totally reverse course,” according to Lieber
It’s anything but mystifying. We know exactly why they are doing it. It will be interesting to see how New Yorkers take it, however:
The MTA says newly released numbers show most travel times are down for drivers in Manhattan’s Congestion Relief Zone, while buses and subways are seeing more riders.
“Before the start of congestion relief, talk of lawsuits and doubts dominated the conversation, but now it’s the undeniably positive results we’ve been seeing since week one,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement Wednesday.
The MTA says travels times have improved in the Congestion Relief Zone by as much as 59% during peak afternoon hours. Officials say traffic patterns indicate more drivers are shifting to off-peak hours, as the plan intended.
Data shows most of the vehicles entering the zone were passenger vehicles, followed by taxis and for-hire vehicles and then small trucks. Of them, 43% entered the zone north of 60th Street, 24% came from Brooklyn, 17% percent came from New Jersey and 16% from Queens.
Inbound trip times at all Hudson and East River crossings are at least 10 percent faster than they were last January, according to the MTA. The Holland Tunnel has seen the biggest improvement, with a 48% reduction during the morning commute, the MTA says. On the East Side, the Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges have both seen 30% faster trips.
Officials say drivers on the Long Island Expressway, NJ 495 and Flatbush Avenue have also seen improved speeds.
I guess he thinks he’s servicing his biggest fans but you have to wonder if they’re going to be as happy as he thinks they will if the traffic goes back to the way it was before.
By the way, when are they going to weigh in on the toll roads all over the east coast? Millions of those working class and small businessmen pay those too. The only difference I can see is that they don’t have any positive effect on the traffic.