The federal government has removed approvals for New York City’s recently enacted program to use automated congestion tolls to help source an estimated $15 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. However, the corporation has said it will not comply and is being backed by state officials in a new lawsuit.
Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation (DOT) suspended support of the Manhattan Transit Authority’s (MTA) congestion pricing toll program. We’ve covered the plan in the past, often critically. But the gist is that New York City implemented an automated camera enforcement system (which reads license plates) to create new fees for drivers attempting to drive into lower Manhattan. It’s similar to what we’ve seen from several European cities and was rationalized by suggesting that the move would raise money for the MTA while limiting both traffic and the associated pollution.
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