Trucking groups renew push to kill NYC congestion tolling

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The American Trucking Associations and Trucking Association of New York are urging Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to permanently end New York City’s congestion pricing plan as a deadline approaches Friday.

The program, which charged drivers to enter a congestion zone in Manhattan, would raise trucking costs and prices for people living, working and visiting New York — while also potentially generating “significant job losses,” the groups wrote in a letter to the nation’s top transportation official.

“We would like to thank you for your efforts to halt this ill-conceived, discriminatory scheme,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear and TANY President Kendra Hems wrote. “We encourage USDOT to take all necessary steps to ensure that New York’s application of tolls is consistent with the Constitution and federal statutes.”

In an accompanying press release, the associations cited a March 21 deadline for ending the program set by the Trump administration in February.

The U.S. Department of Transportation had already taken a step toward ending the program, rescinding last month the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the congestion pricing plan.

“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans