Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
422093580_050ae3f4c9.jpgRep. Jim Oberstar at the 2007 National Bike Summit. Photo by Bike Portland via Flickr.

The details of Rep. Jim Oberstar's plans for the next federal transportation bill are starting to come into focus. Last Friday, The Infrastructurist ran an item about a document on the subject that has made its way into the public eye:

Oberstar has recently been circulating a “two-page handwritten outline” around the Hill, according to the BNA’s Daily Report for Executives, which obtained a copy of the document. They report the following tidbits:

> The outline calls for “transit equity.” Right now the feds pay 80 percent of highway projects and 50 percent of transit projects. That would change.

> It would create DOT agencies focused on a “national strategic plan” and on “mega-projects.”

> “DOT’s 108 programs [will be consolidated] into four “major formula programs”: critical asset preservation, highway safety improvement, surface transportation program, and congestion mitigationand air quality improvement.”

> The document seems to call for more transparency with transportation data.

Leaves you wanting more, doesn't it?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

The ‘War on Cars’ Is Worth Fighting — And Here’s What Life Might Look Like When We Win

A first book from the prolific podcast hosts offers a solid foundation for would-be advocates against automobility — and some new ammunition for veterans.

October 21, 2025

Vision Zero Cities: Fund Transit — Or Lose It

Got a transit vision? Check out how several cities struggled and then rebounded.

October 21, 2025

Advocates: The Senate’s Chance to Ensure America’s Public Transit Future Is Now

Congress is in the process of writing America's next big transportation bill — and more than 100 organizations are demanding it deliver for transit.

October 20, 2025

Why Does Female Leadership Break Through the Status Quo?

"This is not a feminist agenda. This is just logic," said one woman in power.

Maybe Monday’s Headlines Drive, Maybe They Walk

Nobody tells you where to go, baby. So what's the difference if a computer's behind the wheel or a person?

October 20, 2025

More Tantrums: Trump DOT Threatens NYC Over Building a Bus Lane (Yes, Really)

The feds threatened to cut city and state funding if New York doesn't halt all work on the 34th Street busway so the FHWA can review the project.

October 17, 2025
See all posts