Cases

New York City’s Congestion Pricing Program

Relentless traffic has clogged streets and lungs with polluted air. NYC’s Congestion Pricing Program addresses the safety hazards and poor air quality caused by extensively congested traffic, while also providing critical funding to improve the city’s mass transit system that approximately 5 million people ride every day.

Clients

Riders AllianceSierra Club

Attorneys

Dror LadinSuzanne NovakRachel SpectorMichael Youhana

Regional Office / Program

Northeast Office

Case Overview

After years of advocacy by transit riders, unions, and clean air activists, New York City’s Congestion Pricing Program went into effect on Jan. 5, 2025. It reduces congestion by charging drivers to enter lower Manhattan, using that money to fund public transit projects.

Early economic data shows improvements in markers such as Broadway attendance and retail sales, which reports show have been $900 million higher in January 2025 compared to the same period last year. Additionally, with less vehicles on the road, air quality improvements follow. Traffic fumes are responsible for more than 1,000 premature deaths in New York City annually and are linked to illnesses like asthma and heart disease.

Congestion pricing programs have proven to be successful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, relieving traffic congestion, and improving safety in major cities such as Singapore, London, and Stockholm.

In a New York State-based legal challenge, Earthjustice and our clients reached a settlement with New York State and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)/Triborough in 2024 to enact the program after an “indefinite pause” placed by NY Gov. Hochul.

In 2025, Riders Alliance and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, filed a legal complaint against the Trump administration’s Department of Transportation for attempting to end the long-awaited Congestion Pricing Program, less than two months after the program’s successful launch. The complaint charges that the Trump administration made serious legal mistakes in its rush to deprive New Yorkers of the benefits of Congestion Pricing, and that these mistakes suggest that the administration is acting pretextually.

A subway train on the 7 line in Queens, with New York City's Manhattan skyline in the background.
A subway train on the 7 line in Queens. New York City's congestion pricing program is raising millions for public transit improvements and significantly reducing traffic. (Marco Bottigelli / Getty Images)

Case Updates

An aerial view of streets in Times Square in New York City.
March 4, 2025 Press Release

New Challenge on Trump Administration’s Attempt to “Terminate” New York’s Congestion Pricing Program

Groups join MTA’s lawsuit against DOT’s approval revocation of Congestion Pricing Tolling Program that results in cleaner air, less traffic, and crucial funding for public transportation improvements and subway upgrades

March 4, 2025 document

Complaint: Challenging on Trump Administration’s Attempt to “Terminate” New York’s Congestion Pricing Program

Riders Alliance and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, filed a new legal complaint against the Trump administration’s Department of Transportation (DOT) for attempting to end New York City’s long-awaited Congestion Pricing program, less than two months after the program’s successful launch. The legal complaint charges that the Trump administration made serious legal mistakes in its rush to deprive New Yorkers of the benefits of Congestion Pricing, and that these mistakes suggest that the administration is acting pretextually.

Cars, including taxis, fill up a large street surrounded by people on the sidewalk and very tall buildings in New York City.
March 4, 2025 Article

Congestion Pricing is a Big Win for Clean Air. We’re Suing Trump to Keep It.

The program is raising millions for public transit improvements and significantly reducing traffic.

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Case page created on March 5, 2025.