New York City will “indefinitely pause” a congestion pricing plan that was years in the making, the state’s governor Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday, casting uncertainty over billions of dollars in expected funding for an ailing public transit system.

Hochul, a Democrat, cited New York City’s slow recovery from the Covid pandemic and the high costs weighing on ordinary New Yorkers as she sidelined what had been one of the city’s biggest initiatives in years.

“After careful consideration, I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system risks too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers at this time,” Hochul said, noting that she had asked the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the city’s public transit system, to delay the plan “indefinitely”.