USDOT Targets Transit, High-Speed Rail, Sustainable Transportation for Cuts

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is threatening multiple major transit agencies with a loss of funding, reports Benton Graham in Grist. In letters to the New York and Washington, D.C. transit agencies, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cited security concerns as a reason for potentially pulling federal funding. Duffy threatened to withhold what amounts to roughly 20 percent of New York MTA’s budget for major infrastructure in federal funding. However, Graham points out that “Major crime is down 29 percent compared to last year on New York City’s subways and buses.”

According to Graham, “Duffy has already hinted at targeting other cities, adding the Chicago Transit Authority to the list of public transit agencies that could be in danger in an interview on Fox News.”

These cuts could result in “millions of tons of unnecessary annual carbon emissions over the coming decades” as the administration pulls funding for projects already underway, an uncommon move. “The moves represent an emerging pattern in the DOT’s approach to transportation under President Donald Trump: target the highest-profile climate-friendly programs in states with Democratic leadership,” Graham notes.

USDOT is also taking aim at New York’s congestion pricing program and California’s high-speed rail (HSR) project, threatening to pull federal funding while simultaneously promoting privatized HSR.