As expected, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) voted today to approve a congestion pricing plan that would toll drivers who travel south of 60th Street in Manhattan in order to fund public transit. Tolls are set to begin being collected in mid-June.
And as expected, the 11-1 vote is already drawing condemnation from many top New Jersey politicians – among them Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) and Gov. Phil Murphy, who have long been two of congestion pricing’s most vociferous opponents.
“Today’s vote was just a rubber stamp on the MTA’s unprecedented cash grab,” Gottheimer said. “It just proves what we knew all along – the MTA doesn’t care about less traffic, helping the environment, or supporting families. They will do anything to cover their historic mismanagement – and the billions of dollars they bleed out every year. Today, they ignored the voices of tens of thousands of families who begged them to do the right thing.”
“This is far from over and we will continue to fight this blatant cash grab,” Murphy concurred. “The MTA’s actions today are further proof that they are determined to violate the law in order to balance their budget on the backs of New Jersey commuters. We will continue to avail ourselves of every option in order to protect residents on this side of the Hudson from an unfair tolling scheme that discriminates against New Jerseyans, especially lower and middle-income drivers.”
Last summer, Murphy’s administration sued the federal government in an effort to halt congestion pricing; a hearing in that case scheduled for early April. With the MTA board’s vote today and the Federal Highway Administration’s approval expected to come soon, New Jersey’s lawsuit represents what is likely the biggest hurdle the plan still has to overcome before it can be implemented.
But while Murphy, Gottheimer, and most other New Jersey politicians are dead-set against congestion pricing, a few progressive groups and elected officials – especially those from urban, public transit-heavy communities – have taken a different stance. Among them is Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a Democratic candidate for governor in 2025, who is critical of some parts of New York’s congestion pricing plan but has said New Jersey should be eying similar plans to fund its own transit needs.
“The same way the MTA is using the congestion pricing in New York to offset some of their expenses, New Jersey should be doing the same,” he said last August. “Instead of complaining to the courts, we should be doing the same and looking to solve the issues here.”