A New York judge this week rejected the Trucking Association of New York’s (TANY) motion for preliminary injunction against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s Congestion Pricing Plan that the group argued unfairly targets trucking and logistics companies, which are charged far higher rates than passenger vehicles.
Under the plan, vehicles would be charged a toll to enter the Congestion Relief Zone (formally referred to as the Manhattan Central Business District) – the area of Manhattan south of and including 60th Street, excluding the FDR Drive, West Side Highway/Route 9A, and the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connections to West Street. Large trucks (tractor-trailers) using E-ZPass will be charged $36 to enter the area during the peak period, which is defined as 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Trucks will be charged $9 to enter the zone during the overnight periods. Single-unit box trucks will be charged $24 during peak hours and $6 overnight.
TANY President, Kendra Hems noted trucking operators represent just 4% of all NYC vehicle traffic on a per-trip basis, while passenger vehicles, which constitute 87% of all NYC vehicle traffic, are only charged once per day,
"This burden, which is far heavier for the trucking industry than any other, will have significant downstream impacts on the entire economy," she said. “When congestion pricing was delayed earlier in 2024, we had the chance to go back to the drawing board to ensure parity for much of the city’s economic backbone, including the trucking industry, which moves nearly 90% of goods in the five boroughs.”
In its latest Cost of Congestion study, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) found a level of delay equivalent to 435,686 truck drivers remaining idle for the entire year – an idling of 22% of all Class-A licensed commercial truck drivers – and an average cost of $7,588 for every registered combination truck. The New York metropolitan area is home to the highest congestion costs at $6.68 billion.
Hems warned that tacking on added congestion fees would be especially hurtful to the heart of one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.
"The MTA has subjected New Yorkers to the likelihood of a quality-of-life crisis in Manhattan: unstocked store shelves, the decimation of New York’s world-renowned restaurant industry, and a lack of immediate access to life saving medications," she said. "Especially amidst our ongoing affordability crisis, and with inflation ticking back up again, congestion pricing will be debilitating for the average New Yorker.”
