Hooray! Trump & Team are Protecting Working-Class Drivers from Kathy Hochul’s Midtown Toll Scheme

Cheers! The Trump administration is stepping in to help working-class drivers by abolishing the city’s hated “congestion” tolls.

A big shout-out to President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for taking this initiative.

As Duffy explained when revoking federal approval on Wednesday, the $9 charge for driving into Manhattan below 60th Street was a scam from the beginning.

Instead of alleviating traffic, the toll was essentially aimed at increasing funds for the MTA.

Consequently, drivers—including teachers, police officers, deli workers, secretaries, and others who have no option but to drive into the city—ended up footing the bill. This is undeniably unjust.

According to Duffy, New York’s “congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working-class Americans and small-business owners,” as he expressed in a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul.

He stated it “takes more money from working people to fund a transit system instead of highways. It’s illogical and unjust.”

Absolutely! Wealthy residents of Manhattan have ample access to public transportation, yet the funds from these “congestion” charges primarily benefit a system they disproportionately utilize.

Moreover, the toll scheme left motorists—especially those from the outer boroughs, New Jersey, and Connecticut—without a “free highway alternative.”

This provided Duffy with solid reasoning to overturn the tolls, as the “pilot program” under which Biden’s administration approved these charges should allow drivers a non-toll option.

Additionally, he highlighted that the Midtown tolls violate federal highway-aid regulations that prohibit tolls on federally funded roads unless Congress authorizes a waiver.

This represented a clear misinterpretation of guidelines for “pilot” (i.e., test) programs aimed at exploring methods to reduce traffic—not a tool for forever generating “transit revenue.”

While the MTA is indeed dealing with budget shortfalls,

it’s always facing these types of challenges.

Fares increase, taxes skyrocket, and government assistance expands—all in an attempt to patch up the system’s financial gaps. Yet, the agency’s “financial crisis” persists.

Piling hefty tolls on drivers, who often have no choice but to drive, is not a sustainable approach to financing a transit system.

The MTA and its top leader, Kathy Hochul, must devise a strategy to address the agency’s financial issues (such as trimming costs, revising work regulations, eliminating union-mandated perks, etc.) without continuously burdening riders, taxpayers, and now . . . motorists.

In the meantime, it’s refreshing to see Team Trump advocating for the everyday person.