A federal judge delayed his decision on the fate of New York City’s congestion pricing initiative, setting oral arguments for January 28 in the legal fight over new tolls on some of Manhattan’s busiest streets to fund transit improvements.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city’s transit system and implemented the toll, sued in February after the Trump administration rescinded approvals that had been granted under the Biden administration.

In May, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman said he anticipated issuing a final judgment by the end of 2025. But on December 23, he set a two-hour hearing for next month for both sides to make their case in person. 

New York City’s congestion pricing program is the first of its kind in the U.S. It began on January 5, 2025, with most passenger vehicles paying $9 during peak hours to drive into the tolled zone, which runs from 60th Street to the southern tip of the island. Trucks pay a higher fee.

According to his order, Liman will hear oral arguments on separate motions for summary judgment made by the MTA and the federal government. 

The MTA is seeking to issue debt in 2026 that would be secured with the congestion pricing toll revenue. The transit agency anticipates collecting $548.3 million of toll revenue, after expenses, in 2025.

The case is Metropolitan Transportation Authority v. Duffy, 25-cv-1413, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).