The state’s truckers are suing to block congestion pricing one month before the launch of the contentious tolling program.
The Trucking Association of New York, a trade group that represents more than 500 companies from national fleets to single truck owner-operators, on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, arguing that a new congestion fee of up to $36 per trip for trucks to enter Manhattan’s core will unfairly burden trucking companies and may force them to pass the cost on to local businesses and consumers.
Thursday’s lawsuit is the latest of several court challenges filed against the MTA’s new tolls but this suit takes a novel, long-shot approach in its legal arguments. The Trucking Association contends, in part, that congestion pricing violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution by levying a financial burden on operations that carry goods across state lines. It also argues that federal law prevents the program entirely, said Brian Carr, an attorney with Albany-based Monaco Cooper Lamme and Carr hired to represent the Trucking Association.
The lawsuit’s arguments are a last-ditch effort and likely a legal stretch as well, given longstanding tolls for bridges and tunnels to and from Manhattan. The suit effectively argues against the legality of tolls for commercial trucks that travel between states. The Trucking Association over the past year has vocally opposed the tolls planned for the industry, and raised concerns during the MTA’s public comment period on the fees but so far hadn’t opted to go to court. When the MTA’s board voted to approve the tolls earlier this year, Kendra Hems, the president of the Trucking Association, said it would “explore all options, including litigation” to fight the fees.
MTA spokesman Mike Cortez declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The Trucking Association wants a judge to issue a preliminary injunction to prevent congestion pricing from taking effect before the lawsuit is settled. The group, meantime, hopes to pressure the MTA to exempt delivery trucks from tolls.
“Federal law requires that motor carriers be allowed to set their rates, plan their routes and provide their services to their customers based on market forces, not state regulation,” said Carr, whose firm was retained in April to represent the Trucking Association, “and that’s exactly what we have here.”
In March, the MTA’s board approved a congestion pricing toll plan to charge most drivers a $15 daytime toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, which is anticipated to generate $1 billion annually that the MTA intends to spend on improving the region’s mass transit.
Zach Miller, the director of metro region operations for the Trucking Association, said the eleventh-hour suit was filed just four weeks before congestion pricing’s June 30 start date because “it took some time to do the legal research necessary in this case.” He added that the organization’s membership needed time to digest the toll’s impact on their operations, and after hearing a chorus of concerns, the Trucking Association decided to advance a lawsuit.
Under the program, commercial trucks will be charged between $24 and $36, depending on their size. The fee structure encourages trucks to travel into the pricing zone at a 75% discount during off-peak hours, namely from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays.
Miller pushed back on the incentive, arguing that when drivers are scheduled to deliver goods is out of their hands and dictated by the needs of local businesses.
“The trucking companies don’t set the delivery window, the receivers do,” said Miller. “Given staffing needs, that tends to be during peak periods.”
Multiple lawsuits filed in New York and New Jersey seeking to hit the brakes on congestion pricing are working their way through court, including challenges brought by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the United Teachers Federation.
Caroline Spivack , 2024-05-30 23:59:58
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