Congestion pricing was supposed to fund MTA projects. After the delay, this company is feeling the impact.

NEW YORK — One day after Gov. Kathy Hochul suddenly slammed the brakes on congestion pricing, there are reverberations across the region.

Manufacturer faces potential budget cuts, layoffs due to congestion pricing delay

The company Alstom is responsible for building about half of New York City’s subway cars. Their subway fleet dominates the more-than-century-old system.

So what does the delay in congestion pricing, and the funding that was expected to come from the tolling program, mean for the future of Alstom?

“I think that this throws things into a lot of uncertainty … and for manufacturers like us that were looking to a reliable steady stream of funding,” said Dani Simons, vice president of communications for the company.

Simons says without a dedicated funding stream, “the MTA can’t refresh their fleet and that means we can’t give good manufacturing jobs.”

Now, the manufacturer faces the risk of budget cuts, which could lead to layoffs.  

“We need to be able to know that we have those projects in our pipeline so that we can be able to keep people employed,” Simons said.

What does the congestion pricing delay mean for NYC’s subway system?

That expected funding, with a price tag in the billions, was supposed to go towards improving the MTA’s aging subway fleet, some of which has been around since the ’70s.

CBS New York transportation reporter Elijah Westbrook says without the funding, those older subway cars will likely remain in service a lot longer than the MTA expected. The MTA has been vocal about updating their subway cars to the newer R211s, but they’re not rolling out as quickly as the MTA had anticipated.

The MTA for months has warned if congestion pricing is delayed, the impacts could have a ripple effect expanding beyond newer trains.

In February, MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said congestion pricing would fund projects like Second Avenue Subway to East Harlem and creating a more reliable signaling system on multiple lines, including the A, B, C, D, F and M.

Elijah Westbrook

Elijah Westbrook is an Emmy Award-winning journalist. He joined CBS2 News and CBS News New York in January 2022.