MTA reveals how much money congestion pricing tolls have raised as future remains uncertain
As the legal battle over congestion pricing in New York City remains up in the air, new data released Monday shows how much money the tolls have raised for the MTA.
In January, congestion pricing tolls brought in $48.6 million, including $10.6 million from for-hire vehicles and the taxi surcharge, according to the MTA. Of the remaining $38 million, 85% was for passenger vehicles and 15% was for trucks, buses and motorcycles entering the Manhattan Congestion Relief Zone.
Before the finance committee meeting, The New York Times reported the number was nearly $50 million in January, exceeding the agency's financial expectations.
Also at Monday's meeting, Acting Chief Safety Officer Carl Hamann announced major crime in the subway has seen nearly a 23% reduction over the past 28 days. At the MTA bridges and tunnels, overall collisions are down by 11.6% over the past year, and collisions with injuries are down 25.8%.
The meeting comes as congestion pricing faces an uncertain future after the U.S. Department of Transportation revoked its federal authorization last week. The MTA filed a lawsuit to stop the interference and says it will keep collecting the tolls to fund mass transit repairs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul met with President Trump last Friday in the Oval Office, where the governor touted congestion pricing's early success in improving travel times and mass transit ridership.
"The Governor and the President had a frank, candid conversation about New York's key priorities including congestion pricing, immigration, infrastructure, economic development, energy, offshore wind and nuclear power," Hochul's office said in a statement to CBS News. "Governor Hochul also presented President Trump with a booklet on the early success of congestion pricing. We will not comment further about private conversations."
Hochul responds to "long live the king" comments
On Sunday, the governor told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," that Democratic governors will not "sit idly by" as the president threatens retaliation against state leaders who don't comply with his agenda.
"Don't think that you can just come in and bully us around and not expect a reaction from governors," Hochul said.
After DOT Secretary Sean Duffy sent Hochul a letter last week pulling federal approval for the program, Mr. Trump posted on social media, "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD," adding, "LONG LIVE THE KING!"
Hochul said Sunday she expects the state's lawsuit to win in court and once again pushed back on the president's "king" comments.
"I have a problem with that characterization, because we labored under a king 250 years ago, and as I said, we're not going back there," she said.
New York is also facing a lawsuit from the Department of Homeland Security over its immigration policies, specifically its Green Light Law. The 2019 law allows people to apply for drivers' licenses without providing a Social Security number, one of many such laws across the country.
