Toll on Manhattan drivers remains in effect, despite Trump's Easter Sunday deadline

NEW YORK — New York's $9 congestion toll on most drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan remained in effect Sunday, despite an Easter deadline from the Trump administration to halt the first-in-the-nation fee.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency overseeing the tolls, confirmed Sunday that its system of traffic cameras continues to collect the fee assessed on most cars entering the borough below Central Park.

President Donald Trump's transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, rescinded federal approval for the program in February, calling it ''a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,'' and initially gave New York until March 21 to comply.

The MTA challenged Duffy's decision in federal court and Duffy subsequently pushed the deadline back by a month, to April 20. The transportation department insisted it would not back off the deadline even as the court case plays out, saying it would ''not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal'' if the state failed to stop the toll.

''In case there were any doubts, MTA, State and City reaffirmed in a court filing that congestion pricing is here to stay and that the arguments Secretary Duffy made trying to stop it have zero merit," John J. McCarthy, the MTA's chief of policy and external relations, said Sunday.

Spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Transportation didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment Sunday.

The fee began Jan. 5 and is meant to not just reduce traffic jams but also raise billions of dollars in revenue for New York's subways, commuter trains and public buses.

But Trump, whose namesake Trump Tower and other properties are within the congestion zone, had vowed to kill the plan as soon as he took office.

The transit authority, meanwhile, has continued to tout the benefits of the tolling program, saying fewer vehicles are now coming into the heart of Manhattan.

Around 560,000 vehicles per day entered the congestion zone in March, a 13% drop from the roughly 640,000 the MTA projects would have driven through the area without the tolling scheme, according to data the agency released earlier this month.

The agency has previously said it's on track to meet the $500 million in revenue initially projected this year from congestion pricing.

The toll varies depending on type of vehicle and time of day and comes on top of tolls drivers already pay to cross bridges and tunnels into Manhattan.

Other big cities around the world, including London and Stockholm, have similar congestion pricing schemes.

On Thursday, a Manhattan federal judge dismissed a series of lawsuits brought by the local trucking industry and other local groups challenging the toll.

Most of those lawsuits had argued the fee was approved by federal transportation officials without proper scrutiny and that the court should order the completion of a more comprehensive environmental impact study.