A federal court in New York has issued an opinion dismissing the Trucking Association of New York's lawsuit challenging the NYC congestion pricing program. TANY argued that the pricing program violated the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution because trucks comprise only 4 percent of the traffic entering Manhattan but pay a higher toll than any other type of vehicle. Also, trucks must pay each time they enter the tolling area while cars are charged once per day.

The court held that the tolling provisions were a "fair approximation of use" of the streets by trucks, which requires only a lenient standard of reasonableness. Also, the court found the tolls were not excessive in relation to the benefits conferred.

TANY did not argue that the tolls discriminate against interstate commerce. In addition, TANY has vowed to keep fighting against the congestion pricing scheme.

Two weeks ago, the same federal judge separately ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation has no authority to stop the New York City congestion pricing program for cars, trucks, and buses. That opinion denied claims made by DOT that the program violated several federal statutes.

In addition, last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral arguments in appeals brought by Rockland County and Orange County, New York. Their cases each argued the congestion pricing program denied their residents equal protection of the law and violated the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of excessive fines. Each case was previously dismissed by the lower court.

New York City claims that in the program’s first year, congestion pricing raised $468 million for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, led to an 11 percent drop in vehicle entries and a 4.6 percent improvement in vehicle speeds. NYC also claimed that greenhouse gas emissions decreased 6.1 percent in the congestion pricing zone in Manhattan below 60th Street.

The NYC program is the first congestion pricing program in the country, and these court rulings are likely to encourage other jurisdictions to adopt similar measures.