April 20 (UPI) — New York City’s $9 congestion pricing fee for people driving in certain parts of the city will remain, passing a federal deadline Sunday to end it.
“The program is working,” N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “Traffic is down, business is up and the cameras are staying on.” Hochul has been a staunch supporter of the program, touting its benefits.
The Department of Transportation ordered New York city to “terminate” the program and set a Sunday deadline.
“USDOT will continue to fight for working class Americans whose tax dollars have already funded and paid for these roads,” a statement said.
The DOT mandate came on the heels of efforts by President-Elect Donald Trump to also put an end to it. He suggested that he would not support the plan before he took office and then again in February after had assumed his second term.
A federal judge has sided with New York City in its efforts to keep the plan alive, saying the toll is legal. Hochul and the Metropolitan Transit Authority have both said the cameras will stay on and the toll program in place until a judge rules otherwise.
Pricing congestion has already sidestepped a number of federal mandates and deadlines. The plan went into effect on Jan. 5. Drivers entering Manhattan’s central business district, from 60th St. to the southern edge of the Financial District face a $9 fee from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
