Congestion pricing: Trump reiterates call to end the toll program in NYC

Congestion pricing is once again in President Donald Trump’s sights.

The president took to social media to yet again threaten the end of the Manhattan toll program aimed at reducing vehicular traffic and generating a new revenue stream for the MTA.

In a Monday post on Truth Social, which Trump owns, the president said he is asking U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy to take “a good, long look at terminating” the program, according to an Eyewitness News article.

Under congestion pricing, which launched on Jan. 5, vehicles must pay a $9 base toll to enter Manhattan south of 61st Street. Toll amounts vary by vehicle type and the time of day it enters the congestion relief zone (CRZ).

Trump lied in stating that congestion pricing tolls have turned the city into a “ghost town,” the news outlet reported. In fact, local politicians, transit advocates, and some industries have reported faster traffic downtown and an increase in business since the tolls were implemented.

Earlier this year, Broadway reported approximately 19% more people going to shows in the first two months of 2025, compared to the same period last year, according to the NYS governor’s office.

Truck traffic moved fast this year, too, at least according to some studies.

Research conducted in July by Altitude, a company that analyzes data on road networks, showed that between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., 44% of Manhattan roadways in the CRZ experienced faster commercial vehicle travel times.

Trump’s latest post renews his urgency to end the controversial program, which many New Yorkers still oppose. In May, a federal judge prevented the USDOT from imposing retaliatory funding cuts against New York, contingent on the continuation of congestion pricing.

It was not immediately clear when the court would rule on the ongoing case between the feds and the MTA.

Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director of the transit advocacy group, said “what really matters is that the cameras are staying on,” referring to the traffic cameras on toll gantries at entrance points into Manhattan.

“New Yorkers are saving valuable time from congestion relief,” he said. “After decades of disinvestment, Governor Hochul is responding to the needs of millions of riders by raising money to make the subway more reliable and accessible.”

Still, not all New Yorkers see the benefits of congestion pricing. Local politicians, including Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, have opposed the program, with the latter describing the toll program as an “unfair tax on commuters.”

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, as one of the three key candidates in the 2025 NYC mayoral election, also opposes congestion pricing.

Duffy, meanwhile, said he agrees with the President.

“Our push to end this scam has been stuck in a district court for months,” Duffy said. “While New York keeps fighting our rightful legal authorities, Hochul continues to price more and more people out of the city.”

The MTA reported that is on track to reach its goal of $500 million this year through congestion pricing tolls. With the money, the agency said it will make improvements to mass transit on its subway, bus, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad systems.

The MTA declined to comment on this story.