Trump Administration Yanks Its Approval of NYC Toll

President Trump's administration on Wednesday ordered a halt to New York City's congestion pricing system, which had been in effect since Jan. 5 in an effort to reduce traffic in some parts of Manhattan. The city's system uses license plate readers to impose a $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan neighborhoods south of Central Park. In its early days, transit officials say the toll has brought modest but measurable traffic reductions. In a statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the federal government has rescinded its approval of the program, calling it a "slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners." Duffy said his agency will work with the state on an "orderly termination of the tolls." More from the AP:

• More from Duffy: NBC News reports he said the federal government has jurisdiction over highways that enter Manhattan and that the extra tolls posed an unfair burden to "commuters using the highway system to enter New York City [who] have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways."
• A Trump promise: Trump, whose namesake Trump Tower penthouse and other properties are within the congestion zone, had vowed to kill the plan as soon as he took office. He previously characterized it as a massive, regressive tax, saying "it will be virtually impossible for New York City to come back as long as the congestion tax is in effect."
• Models abroad: Similar tolling programs intended to force people onto public transit by making driving cost-prohibitive have long existed in other global cities, including London, Stockholm, Milan and Singapore, but the system had never before been tried in the US.

• The intention: New York planned to use the toll revenue to issue bonds that would fund billions of dollars in improvements and repairs for the city's creaky and cash-strapped transit system, which carries some 4 million riders daily.
• From a supporter of the system: "By blocking this successful policy, Trump will be directly responsible for more traffic, more crashes, more polluted air, slower buses and less funding for our transit system," said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a city Democrat.
• And a critic: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, had fought the tolls and court and wrote a letter Trump on Inauguration Day imploring him to kill the program.
• Hochul wavered: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, also had misgivings. Last June, she abruptly halted the tolling system's planned launch, citing concerns about its impact on the local economy. The Democrat then revived the toll in November following Trump's election, but reduced the toll for passenger vehicles from $15 to $9. Since then, she has lauded it as a win for the city and has discussed the issue multiple times with the president.

(More New York City stories.)