The MTA can’t even run its monthly board meeting on time

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Congestion pricing has taken a big step toward becoming reality. But appropriately enough, the first-in-the-nation tolling scheme will be considered by the MTA board one calendar month later than expected. 

The board will vote on the proposed tolling scheme — which centers on a $15 toll for cars most hours of the day — at its November meeting on Dec. 6. Eagle-eyed readers may notice that date is not, in fact, in November. 

The delay is unusual – and a reflection of how carefully the MTA is treading when it comes to congestion pricing. The agency’s Traffic Mobility Review Board, which is recommending the toll structure, deliberated for months, pushing back the board meeting, according to sources who weren’t authorized to discuss internal discussions. 

With the exception of every August, when the board typically takes a break, and October 2012, when Hurricane Sandy hit, the agency has held a board meeting each calendar month since at least September 2009, according to the MTA’s online records. An MTA spokesperson said this month’s scheduling oddity was caused by the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and board members’ personal schedules. 

But congestion pricing represents one of the most ambitious initiatives in recent MTA history. The delayed board meeting fits a pattern that’s been in place since 2019, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the program into law. 

MTA officials blamed the Trump administration for slow-walking the federal approval for congestion pricing. They later said the Federal Highway Administration under President Joe Biden required an extensive review process that further delayed its launch. 

There have been so many delays that MTA officials said they’re starting to calculate the cost if the program doesn’t go into effect this spring, as it…