News

Today, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear issued the following statement thanking the Trump Administration for ending New York’s scheme to punish hard-working truckers who make essential deliveries to Manhattan businesses and residences:

“We commend President Trump and Secretary Duffy for terminating this disastrous tolling scheme.

"Truckers don't drive into Manhattan to sightsee. They do it because customers depend on them. The deliveries they make are essential to businesses and residents and keep New York City running.

“Truckers deserve our gratitude.  Instead, New York imposed a $21.60 toll — eventually climbing to $36 — each time they crossed south of 60th Street. Even worse, the proceeds of this shakedown were not dedicated to improving roads and bridges but rather subsidized a bloated and mismanaged transit bureaucracy that has proven unable to control spiraling costs. New York’s subways were never going to deliver the city’s freight.

“The American Trucking Associations was proud to support the Trucking Association of New York’s leadership in their successful fight against this unfair policy. We also appreciate the Trump Administration restoring the original intent of the Value Pricing Pilot Program, which does not give states carte blanche ability to toll.  Ending this program will remove an unjust hardship on truckers servicing New York.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration today terminated approval of the pilot for New York’s Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP). In a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, the Department rescinded a November 21, 2024, agreement signed under the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) that effectively ends tolling authority for New York City’s cordon pricing plan, which imposes tolls on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street.

“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair. The program also hurts small businesses in New York that rely on customers from New Jersey and Connecticut. Finally, it impedes the flow of commerce into New York by increasing costs for trucks, which in turn could make goods more expensive for consumer. Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means. It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few."

The construction of federal-aid highways as a toll-free highway system has long been fundamental to the Federal-aid highway program. Except for limited exceptions allowed by Congress, highways constructed with Federal-aid highway funds cannot be tolled. The construction of Federal-aid highways as a toll-free highway system has long been fundamental to the Federal-aid highway program. The VPPP is one of the exceptions to the general prohibition against tolling.

As detailed in the letter, the Secretary is terminating the pilot for two reasons. First, the scope of the CBDTP is unprecedented and provides no toll-free option for many drivers who want or need to travel by vehicle in this major urbanized area. Second, the toll rate was set primarily to raise revenue for transit, rather than at an amount needed to reduce congestion. By doing so, the pilot runs contrary to the purpose of the VPPP, which is to impose tolls for congestion reduction – not transit revenue generation.

The Federal Highway Administration will work with the project sponsors on an orderly termination of the tolls.

You can view a full copy of the letter here.

Washington – Today, the American Transportation Research Institute released its 14th annual list highlighting the most congested bottlenecks for trucks in America, with the interchange of Interstate 95 and State Route 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, ranking as the most congested freight bottleneck in the country. 

As Congress prepares to reauthorize the nation’s surface transportation programs, this timely analysis can help local, state, and federal governments target funding where it is needed most.  ATRI’s analysis also quantifies the value of infrastructure investment through a spotlight on Chicago’s Jane Byrne Interchange.  Once the number one truck bottleneck in the country for three years in a row, the recently constructed interchange saw rush hour truck speeds improve by nearly 25 percent after construction was completed. 

“Delays inflicted on truckers by congestion are the equivalent of 436,000 drivers sitting idle for an entire year,” said ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster. “These metrics are getting worse, but the good news is that states do not need to accept the status quo.  Illinois was once home to the top bottleneck in the country, but following a sustained effort to expand capacity, the Jane Byrne Interchange in Chicago no longer ranks in the top 10.  This data gives policymakers a road map to reduce chokepoints, lower emissions, and drive economic growth.”

The 2025 Top Truck Bottleneck List measures the level of truck-involved congestion at more than 325 locations on the national highway system. The analysis, based on an extensive database of freight truck GPS data, uses several customized software applications and analysis methods, along with terabytes of data from trucking operations to produce a congestion impact ranking for each location.  ATRI’s truck GPS data is also used to support the U.S. Department of Transportation Freight Mobility Initiative.  The bottleneck locations detailed in this latest ATRI list represent the top 100 congested locations, although ATRI continuously monitors more than 325 freight-critical locations.

For the seventh year in a row, the intersection of I-95 and SR 4 near the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey, is the top freight bottleneck in the country. The remaining Top 10 bottlenecks include:

2. Chicago: I-294 at I-290/I-88
3. Houston: I-45 at I-69/US 59
4. Atlanta: I-285 at I-85 (North)
5. Nashville: I-24/I-40 at I-440 (East)
6. Atlanta: I-75 at I-285 (North)
7. Los Angeles: SR 60 at SR 57
8. Cincinnati: I-71 at I-75
9. Houston: I-10 at I-45
10. Atlanta: I-20 at I-285 (West)

ATRI’s analysis, which utilized data from 2024, found traffic conditions continue to deteriorate from recent years, in some instances due to work zones resulting from increased infrastructure investment.  Average rush hour truck speeds were 34.2 MPH, down three percent from the previous year.  Among the top 10 locations, average rush hour truck speeds were 29.7 MPH. 

In addition to squandering time and money, these delays waste fuel – with trucks burning an estimated 6.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel and producing more than 65 million metric tons of additional carbon emissions while stuck in traffic jams.

“As the Trump Administration and new Congress kick off the process of reauthorizing the federal highway bill, this report provides a precise blueprint on where to begin,” said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear. “These traffic bottlenecks not only choke our supply chains, adding $109 billion annually to the cost of transporting the everyday goods that Americans depend on, but they also impact the quality of life for all motorists who rely on the national highway system to commute to work, school, church, and other life events. Targeted investments to reduce this traffic congestion are exactly the kinds of projects, with a measurable return on investment, that taxpayers come to expect of their elected officials.”

For access to the full report, including detailed information on each of the 100 top congested locations, click here to view full list.  ATRI is also providing animations created with truck GPS data for select bottleneck locations, all available on its website.

ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501c3 not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.

The California Air Resources Board has backed down on a regulatory proposal that would have required trucking companies to gradually add zero-emission vehicles to their fleets, a dramatic shift that was welcomed by trucking leaders.

Known as the Advanced Clean Fleets Rule, the law would have mandated for certain truck and bus fleets in the state a phased-in deployment of ZEVs in their operations. Separately, California also has proposed an Advanced Clean Trucks rule that requires manufacturers only sell zero-emission trucks in the state beginning in the 2036 model year. Both proposals require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grant CARB a waiver of federal rules to proceed. The state has withdrawn its waiver request for the ACF law, but the ACT proposal remains. Manufacturers have negotiated independently with the state on that proposal, and currently have an agreement in place.

“The Advanced Clean Trucks regulation will still be in effect, [and] it will likely put the onus on truck manufacturers to continue to make zero-emission trucks,” said Mike Tunnell, California-based senior director of environmental affairs/research for American Trucking Associations. READ MORE

In the latest edition of its annual freight forecast, the American Trucking Associations projects that after two years of declines, truck volumes are expected to grow 1.6% in 2025, and ultimately rise to nearly 14 billion tons by 2035.

The projection comes in ATA Freight Transportation Forecast 2024 to 2035, a joint report by ATA and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“In this edition of Forecast, the trucking industry continues to dominate the freight transportation industry in terms of both tonnage and revenue, comprising 72.7% of tonnage and 76.9% of revenue in 2024,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “We project that market share to hold over the next decade as the country continues to rely on trucking to move the vast majority of freight.”

Other key findings in ATA’s Freight Transportation Forecast 2024 to 2035 include:

• Total truck tonnage will rise from an estimated 11.27 billion tons in 2024 to 13.99 billion tons in 2035. Over that same period, trucking industry revenues will grow from an estimated $906 billion to $1.46 trillion, accounting for 76.8% of the freight market by the end of the forecast period.

• Looking at other modes of transportation:

• The overall share of freight tonnage moved by railroads will fall from 10.6% in 2024 to 9.9% in 2035, mostly due to declines in coal volume.

• Intermodal rail tonnage will grow by 2.9% through 2030, and then 2.8% between 2031 and 2035.

• Air cargo, domestic waterborne transportation and pipelines will all see increases in tonnage between 2024 and 2035.

“Knowledge is power, and the information in Freight Forecast is an enabler for the leaders who shape our industry,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Understanding the trends in our supply chain should be key for policymakers in Washington, in statehouses around the country and wherever decisions are being made that affect trucking and our economy.”

ATA Freight Transportation Forecast 2024 to 2035, done in collaboration with S&P Global Market Intelligence, is available for purchase at www.atabusinesssolutions.com or by calling 866-821-3468.

Motor carriers and drivers using COLUMBUS ELD and MasterELD devices have 60 days to replace them with compliant ELDs.

On December 11, 2024, FMCSA removed the following ELDs from the list of registered ELDs due to the providers’ failure to meet the minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A.

ELD Name	Model Number	ELD Identifier	ELD Provider
COLUMBUS ELD	C-US	CMB388	Columbus ELD
MasterELD	MELD02	MWLA01	NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS LLC
MasterELD	MELD03	MIOA01	NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS LLC
MasterELD	MELD04	MEPT04	NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS LLC

These ELDs now appear on FMCSA’s Revoked Devices list.

Motor carriers and drivers who use the ELDs listed above must take the following actions:

1. Discontinue using the revoked ELDs and revert to paper logs or logging software to record required hours of service data.
2. Replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs from the Registered Devices list before February 9, 2025.

This Thursday December 12, 2024, at 10:00am in Trenton the NJ General Assembly Transportation & Independent Authorities Committee will take testimony on Assembly Bill 4967, which delays the implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck EV mandate, by two years.  

NJMTA leadership will testify in support of the bill.  However, for us to be successful, we will need as many trucking companies and truck dealerships as possible to show up and support Assembly Bil 4967.  Support includes testifying in support of the bill or submitting a witness slip stating your name and title and name of your company indicating you wish to be recorded in the legislative record as supporting but do not wish to testify. Your mere presence in the room is a huge benefit even if you don’t wish to testify, especially since the truck haters will be there in full force.  If you wish to testify, please let Jennifer Blazovic know as I would like to have a discussion with you beforehand.

The State House is located at 125 West State Street, Trenton, NJ.

If you cannot attend, you can watch the hearing here.  Scroll down to “Live Proceedings” then scroll to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities. The committee hearing may not start exactly at 10:00am. Keep refreshing your browser. Assembly Bill 4967 is one of seven bills on the agenda.

NJMTA Lobbyist, Eric DeGesero

After a thorough review of fuel consumption statistics and consultation with the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer, the Department of the Treasury announced on Monday that New Jersey’s gas tax rate will increase by 2.6 cents per gallon beginning January 1, 2025 to support the State’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) program. This increase is the result of the 2024 law (Chapter 7) which gradually raises the State’s Highway Fuel Cap from Fiscal Year 2025 through Fiscal Year 2029. The FY2025 Highway Fuel Cap is set by the new statute at exactly $2.032 billion, which is $84 million, or 4.3 percent higher than the previous baseline level of $1.948 billion, and will increase each fiscal year, reaching $2.366 billion in FY2029.

“Based on our review of the consumption data, combined with the requirement to meet the new statutory target, we have determined that the new formula dictates a 2.6 cent increase this coming January,” said State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio. “We are pleased that this dedicated funding stream continues to provide billions of dollars across the State to support our critical transportation infrastructure needs.”

Under Chapter 7, New Jersey’s TTF program is required to provide nearly $11 billion over five years to support critical infrastructure improvements to the State’s roadways and bridges. In order to ensure the State has the funds necessary to support these projects, the law dictates that the Petroleum Products Gross Receipt Tax (PPGRT) rate must be adjusted accordingly to generate enough revenue to meet the statutory Highway Fuel Cap for that fiscal year.

What is generally called the “gas tax” or the “highway fuels tax” is actually two separate taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel - the Motor Fuels Tax and the PPGRT.

Under the formula explicitly outlined in Chapter 7, the PPGRT rate will increase on January 1, 2025 from 31.8 cents to 34.4 cents for gasoline and from 35.8 cents to 38.4 cents for diesel fuel. When combined with the Motor Fuels Tax, which is fixed at 10.5 cents for gasoline and 13.5 cents for diesel fuel, the total tax rates that motorists will pay for gasoline and diesel fuel will be 44.9 cents and 51.9 cents, respectively.

Background on Chapter 7 & Calculation of Tax Rate Formula

Under Chapter 7, a statutory formula determines how much the PPGRT rate is to be adjusted annually in order to meet that year’s Highway Fuel Cap. The Treasurer is required to meet with the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer on or before November 15 of each fiscal year to determine the total revenue derived from highway fuels consumption. This process just concluded, with Treasurer Muoio and LBFO Thomas Koenig consulting on consumption data and revenue collections.

The PPGRT rate may be adjusted annually for the following two reasons:

• to correct for a prior fiscal year’s revenue shortfall or surplus in meeting the Highway Fuel Cap; and
• to correct for whether projected highway fuels consumption in the current fiscal year will be enough to meet the Highway Fuel Cap for the current fiscal year.

When necessary, the PPGRT rate is adjusted:

• higher (lower) if revenues for the previous fiscal year were below (above) the revenue target for that year;
• higher (lower) if consumption for the current fiscal year falls short (above) of the defined Highway Fuel Cap.

FY 2025 Rate Calculation

Treasury applied the above formula based on the following revenue numbers:

• After consultation between the State Treasurer and the Legislative Budget and Finance Officer during the review period in November 2025, the Highway Fuel Cap for FY 2025 is $2.032 billion, as set by the statute.

Supporting Statistics

Consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel in FY2025 is projected to be 0.6 percent above FY2024 levels.

As a result, the FY2025 PPGRT rate will be higher than in FY2024 because of the increased Highway Fuel Cap, as set by the statute.

New Jersey and Federal Motor Fuels Tax Rates - Effective January 1, 2025

DIESEL (c/pg)

NJ Motor Fuels Tax - 13.5

NJ PGRT - 38.4

Federal Excise Tax (incl. LUST) - 24.4

TOTAL - 76.3

GASOLINE (c/pg)

NJ Motor Fuels Tax - 10.5

NJ PGRT - 34.4

Federal Excise Tax (incl. LUST) - 18.4

TOTAL - 63.3

New York State will introduce a Congestion Relief Zone Toll. The proposed start date is January 5, 2025.

By law, the first 60 days, only the established tolls will be collected. There will be no additional fees, charges, or fines.

The program will:

• Reduce traffic and travel time
• Lead to safer streets and cleaner air
• Reduce emissions
• Improve quality of life

Drivers will be charged a toll on their E-ZPass once per day when they enter the Congestion Relief Zone. This includes streets in Manhattan below 60 Street.

The toll does not apply to:

• FDR Drive
• West Side Highway
• Hugh L. Carey Tunnel connecting to West Street

However, you will be tolled if you exit from an excluded roadway onto a street within the CBD.

If you live in the CBD, you can apply for the Low-Income Tax Credit.

Drivers without E-ZPass will be mailed a toll bill to the address of the registered vehicle. 

Tolling equipment will be on Broadway between 60 and 61 Streets. 

Learn more about the Congestion Relief Zone Toll Program.

TOLLS

Tolls vary by vehicle and the time of day. The peak period toll rate will apply from 5 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 9 PM on weekends. All other times, drivers will be charged off peak toll rate.

Vehicles without an E-ZPass will pay 50% more than the usual rate.

Type of Vehicle	Peak	Off Peak
Passenger and small commercial vehicles  (Sedans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and small vans)	$9	$2.25
Motorcycles	$4.50	$1.05
Trucks and buses	$14.40 - $21.60	$3.60 - $5.40

Trucks and buses will pay toll depending on their size and function during both peak and off-peak hours.

Taxis and For-Hire Vehicles

Taxis and for-hire vehicles will be charged a per-trip toll, paid by the passenger.

• Green and yellow taxis and black cars: $0.75 per trip
• App-based for-hire vehicles: $1.50

This toll is separate from the State congestion surcharge for some taxis and for-hire trips entering Manhattan South of 96 Street.

Crossing Credits

Vehicles using a valid E-ZPass will get a credit to reduce Congestion Relief Zone Tolls when entering:

• Lincoln Tunnel 
• Holland Tunnel
• Queens-Midtown Tunnel
• Hugh L. Carey Tunnel

Type of Vehicle	Credit up to:
Passenger Vehicle	$3
Motorcycles	$1.50
Small trucks and charter buses	$7.20
Large trucks and tour buses	$12

No crossing credits will be offered overnight. Tolls will be reduced by 75% from the peak tolls. 

Get more information about Tolls.

Look up Toll rates.

DISCOUNTS & EXEMPTIONS

Only vehicles connected with an E-ZPass New York account can enroll for a discount plan or exemption.

Discounts

Some drivers can apply for Low-Income Discount or Low-Income Tax Credit for Residents. 

A 50% discount is available for low-income vehicle owners enrolled in the Low-Income Discount Plan (LIDP). This discount begins after the first 10 trips in a calendar month and applies to all peak period trips that follow.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance will publish more information about the tax credit in Fall 2024.

Online

Learn more and apply for the Low-Income Discount Plan.

By Phone

• Agency: Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Division: E-ZPass Service Center
• Phone Number: (800) 333-8655
• Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 7 AM - 7 PM; Saturday: 8 AM - 2 PM
• Staff is available through the automated phone system during business hours.

Exemptions

Some vehicles will be exempt from the Central Business District (CBD) Tolling program. These include: 

• Qualifying authorized emergency vehicles (ambulances and fire vehicles)
• Qualifying vehicles transporting people with disabilities
• Specialized government vehicles
• School buses contracted by the NYC Department of Education
• Commute vans licensed by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission
• Buses providing scheduled commuter services open to the public

Learn more and apply for the Central Business District (CBD) Tolling program exemptions.

By Phone

• Agency: Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Division: E-ZPass Service Center
• Phone Number: (800) 333-8655
• Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 7 AM - 7 PM; Saturday: 8 AM - 2 PM
• Staff is available through the automated phone system during business hours.