Trucking groups praise DOT termination of NY congestion tolls

The U.S. Department of Transportation has terminated New York City’s congestion pricing plan, drawing praise from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and a vow from the city to fight the decision.

In a DOT news release announcing the decision on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the tolls were a “slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”

“Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes,” he said in the release. “But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair.”

Duffy added that the program hurt small businesses in New York that rely on customers from neighboring states.

President Donald Trump posted on social media that “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD.”

“Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,” he wrote. “LONG LIVE THE KING!”

Stakeholders react

OOIDA told FreightWaves in an emailed statement that the organization “welcomes the DOT’s decision to rescind tolling authority for New York’s congestion pricing plan.”

“Truckers often have very little control over their schedules, so this congestion pricing plan is particularly problematic for owner-operators and independent drivers,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “We routinely have no other choice than to drive through metropolitan areas during periods of high congestion because of the rigidity of current federal hours of service requirements. Additionally, shippers and receivers generally have little regard for a driver’s schedule, frequently requiring loading and unloading to occur at times when nearby roads are most congested.

“New York City’s congestion pricing plan was anti-trucker to begin with and we will continue fighting to ensure it doesn’t come back. Beyond New York City, we encourage the Trump Administration and Congress to fight the expansion of tolling across the country.”

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a statement Wednesday denouncing the Trump administration for “illegally reversing approval of congestion pricing.”

“Congestion pricing is working: traffic is down, travel times have plummeted 30%, transit ridership has surged, and hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing to improve our subways and buses,” he said in the news release. “We must not let Trump drag us back to crappier subway service, standstill traffic, and smoggier air.

“Having been at the forefront of the fight to implement congestion pricing, I am appalled that President Trump and his U.S. Department of Transportation put this in reverse, purely for political purposes. Let’s be clear: the U.S. DOT properly approved this program after extensive environmental review.”

Lander said his office is exploring all available options to reverse “yet another instance of illegal federal overreach by the Trump administration” and keep the tolls implemented.

The Trucking Association of New York (TANY) told FreightWaves in an emailed statement that the group “stands with President Trump and Secretary Duffy in their efforts to end the congestion pricing program.”

“We agree with their decision to halt this program, and we hope it leads to an immediate cessation of the collection of tolls,” said Kendra Hems, president of the Trucking Association of New York. “This will allow New Yorkers to continue enjoying the city, receive their goods at reasonable rates, and ensure the economy keeps running smoothly.”

Background

The pricing plan, which went into effect in early January, charged vehicles to enter or exit Manhattan’s “congestion relief zone.” The zone covers streets and avenues at or below 60th Street, excluding bordering West Side Highway, FDR Drive and Hugh L. Carey Tunnel main roads.

“Small,” one-unit trucks were charged $14.40 to enter the area, while “large” two-unit trucks were charged $21.60. Regular toll rates applied from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, and a 75% cheaper overnight toll outside those time frames aimed to encourage off-hours truck deliveries.

The tolls were criticized by local small businesses and trucking organizations as too costly. The TANY argued that the pricing plan unfairly targeted trucking operators who transport 90% of the goods in the state.

Proponents of the pricing program have said it will cut down on environmentally harmful emissions, unclog streets and allow for better public transit options.

FreightWaves reached out to Gov. Kathy Hochul for comment.

The post Trucking groups praise DOT termination of NY congestion tolls appeared first on FreightWaves.