Gov. Kathy Hochul has plans to pitch a plan to President Trump to keep congestion pricing in place.
ABC7Ny.com states that Gov. Hochul has plans to explain why the program should stay in place. They also caught up with some shoppers on Staten Island who expressed how they feel about congestion pricing.
“I think it’s not going to make a difference,” Guido Amati, Staten Island resident said. Other Staten Island residents believe that Trump should step in to get rid of the tolling plan. “He makes things happen, any other politician doesn’t make anything happen,” Janice Kodetsky, another resident said.
Trump has been vocal about being against the tolling program and has had a few calls with Gov. Hochul about the future of congestion pricing. If the plan is ended, it will be through a compromise where the federal government will have to make up $15 billion in lost revenue to the state.
On Tuesday, Gov. Hochul said “I want to collect data. The president is data-driven. He knows the city. He knows that congestion in front of Trump Tower is not good, and I’m going to be able to point to some very positive benefits of it.” She added, “So I will do my very best.”
MTA data shows that traffic has been moving faster through congestion zones and that more people are taking public transportation compared to last year, however, the revenue data has not been released yet.