By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday she ordered an indefinite halt to planned tolls for drivers entering Manhattan's central business district, which was due to begin in just a few weeks.
New York City's congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the U.S., was scheduled to begin June 30. Under the plan, motorists would pay a $15 daytime toll for vehicles traveling through Manhattan south of 60th Street.
New York lawmakers approved the plan in 2019 to provide funding to improve public transportation by using tolls to manage traffic in downtown Manhattan.
Hochul, a Democrat, said she had made the “difficult decision” that she could not begin congestion charging: “I have ordered the (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) to indefinitely suspend the program,” she said.
“My focus should be on putting more money back into people's pockets,” Hochul said in remarks broadcast by his office, citing high inflation and the high cost of living for many New Yorkers. “And that is why I must stand up and say no to implementing congestion tolling right now.”
New York City, whose traffic is the most congested of any U.S. city, would become the first major U.S. city to follow London, which implemented a similar charge in 2003.
The plan faces legal challenges, including one from New Jersey. It received the green light from the Federal Highway Administration last year.
The congestion pricing plan was originally scheduled to begin in 2021, but President Donald Trump's federal government took no action. The city had planned to charge up to $36 for larger trucks and buses.
New York says more than 900,000 vehicles enter Manhattan's central business district daily, reducing travel speeds to
about 7 mph (11 kph) on average.
New York had said the charge would reduce traffic by 17%, improve air quality and increase public transportation use by 1% to 2%, in addition to generating between $1 billion and $1.5 billion a year and support $15 billion in debt financing to improve public transportation. .
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