NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — President Donald Trump’s administration is continuing its push to end New York City’s congestion pricing program by appealing a decision by a federal judge that allowed the tolling plan to proceed.
In March, US District Judge Lewis Liman found that US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s efforts to stop the program were unlawful, paving the way for it to continue. On Friday, Duffy filed a notice to the court of his plans to appeal that decision.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city’s transit system, implemented the new toll in January 2025. Under the program, the first of its kind in the US, most passenger cars pay $9 during peak hours to drive into Manhattan’s tolled zone that runs from 60th Street to the bottom of the island.
The MTA sued Duffy in February 2025 after USDOT revoked prior authorization of the tolling program that was granted under the Biden administration. Liman ruled in March that Duffy’s move to end congestion pricing was “arbitrary and capricious,” but he declined to issue an order blocking future attempts to halt the program.
The MTA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tolling program has reduced traffic while raising new revenue to help modernize a more than 100-year-old transit system. From January through December last year, an average 72,600 fewer vehicles entered the tolled area each day, about an 11% decline, according to MTA data.
More stories available on bloomberg.com.
