ALBANY, N.Y. — On January 15, the Supreme Court of the State of New York granted a temporary restraining order halting the New York State Thruway Authority’s newly announced 1 percent surcharge on tolls processed through Bestpass by Fleetworthy.
The Honorable Amy E. Joyce ruled that Bestpass by Fleetworthy’s participation in the existing Standard Commercial Charge Account program must remain in place while the court reviews the legal and procedural issues raised. The surcharge had been scheduled to take effect on January 15.
The court’s decision temporarily pauses implementation of the surcharge to tolls processed through Bestpass while legal and procedural concerns are reviewed. Bestpass by Fleetworthy sought the TRO after the surcharge was announced without public notice, stakeholder engagement, or the standard public process used for toll changes.
“Our first priority is protecting our customers, and today’s ruling helps preserve continuity for small businesses and consumers while these issues are reviewed. This ensures a major new cost increase won’t take effect before questions about the process and fairness of this surcharge are fully considered by the courts,” Fleetworthy CEO Tom Fogarty said.
“This is about transparency, fairness, and preventing immediate harm to the trucking fleets and small businesses we serve,” Fleetworthy continued.
Temporary restraining orders are not usually issued unless a party demonstrates a likelihood of success on the merits of its claim and that irreparable harm would occur in the absence of court intervention.
The temporary restraining order does not represent a final decision on the surcharge itself. It preserves the status quo while the court considers the issues raised, including the lack of a transparent process and the economic impact of implementing the fee.
As proposed by the Thruway Authority, the surcharge would apply only to commercial toll-management providers and the trucking fleets that rely on them, while exempting other E-ZPass users. Industry leaders have warned that the added cost would ripple through the supply chain, raising prices on food, household goods, and other everyday essentials.
Today’s court action follows mounting opposition from hundreds of businesses and commercial carriers across New York and the Northeast, who have called the surcharge a backdoor toll increase that conflicts with broader efforts to improve affordability and the state’s business climate.
“We respect the court process and will not speculate on next steps,” Fogarty said. “Our goal remains the same: a pause, meaningful dialogue and a transparent review before any new costs are imposed on the businesses that keep New York’s economy moving.”
“We are proud of our history of providing savings to our fleets, large and small, as well as to the Thruway Authority over the past two decades. We can see no logical reason why our business and the fleets that rely on us should bear new toll-based fees that are not charged to other customers,” he continued.