The Trucking Association of New York filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over the city’s congestion fee, arguing it unfairly targets trucks and logistics with higher rates than passenger vehicles.
According to a March proposal, trucks would be subject to a charge of $24 or $36, while drivers in private passenger cars should expect to pay about $15, with lower rates for motorcycles and late-night entries into the city.
The association said it and its members were "not fundamentally opposed to congestion pricing" but was "fighting to overturn the current version of this plan and hopes to improve the plan to reduce its adverse impacts and introduce parity for the logistics industry."
The association suggests the transit authority revise its plan to exempt the industry from the fee, limit trucks to being tolled just once a day or toll them at the same rate as passenger vehicles.
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Traffic on 42nd Street near Grand Central Terminal in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer / AP Newsroom)
The trucking association's lawsuit is among at least eight seeking to block the congestion fee plan, which is slated to launch June 30.
A Manhattan federal court judge earlier this month heard arguments in lawsuits brought by unionized public school teachers, politicians and other New Yorkers.
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Many of those lawsuits argue the tolling was approved by federal transportation officials without proper scrutiny, and the court should order transit officials to conduct a more comprehensive environmental study before rolling out the plan.
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The MTA declined to comment when reached by Gxstocks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
