Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bike Sharing

Highway-Happy Texas DOT Says El Paso Bike-Share Isn’t Eco Enough

The same state department of transportation that is eagerly pursuing a $5.2 billion third outerbelt for Houston yanked $1.6 million from the city of El Paso this week out of concern that the city's bike-share plans were not "the most efficient ways to address air quality with limited funding."

No price is too high for a highway in Texas, but El Paso's inexpensive bike share plans are under phony scrutiny. Image: ##http://usa.streetsblog.org/2011/11/10/meet-the-rick-perry-donor-who-runs-texas-dot/## El Paso Times##

According to the El Paso Times, the city's Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority was preparing to move forward with bike-share after securing some $400,000 in local funds, including funds from City of El Paso and the University of Texas at El Paso.

But officials from the Texas Department of Transportation indicated this week they were withholding the $1.6 federal match. "TxDOT plans to coordinate conversations with transportation partners to garner more information on how we can dedicate those limited funds to important congestion-mitigation projects around the state," TxDOT said in a memo said, according to the Times.

Scott White, a member of the city's bike advocacy group VeloPaso, told the Times he was frustrated at TxDOT's decision.

"This was a great opportunity for the community of El Paso," White said. "Austin is getting a program. Fort Worth is barely getting it set up. What is so different with those cities that they get one and we don't?"

Local officials are scrambling to reason with TxDOT to save the 20-station, 200-bike plan. But it may have to be dramatically scaled back.

Perhaps bike-share in El Paso just doesn't have enough well-connected monied interests in high positions at TxDOT pushing for it?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Want Safer Vehicles? Amid Federal Inaction, Look to the States

Our federal regulatory framework still lacks essential technology that makes cars, SUVs, and trucks safer. So states are leading.

September 24, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Get Ready for War

Rural hostility toward transit could wreck American cities, and as a result the economy as a whole, according to Jarrett Walker.

September 24, 2025

Our Streets Look Like War Zones — But What if They Were ‘Sites of Peacebuilding’ Instead?

A peace and conflict studies scholar weighs in on what car culture has in common with global conflicts — and why we need to confront violence on our roads if we want to end violence around the globe.

September 23, 2025

‘Treated and Streeted’: How Even a Massive Safety Net Fails Homeless People

New York City's $30-billion social safety net cannot reliably get a homeless person in psychiatric crisis out of the subway and into a hospital bed, a Streetsblog investigation has found.

September 23, 2025

There’s Good Science Behind the Human Craving for Livable Streets

It's time to understand the science of pedestrian-friendly cities. Or, why streets should be designed like gardens.

September 23, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Get a Pink Slip

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledges the ethical concerns of replacing human drivers with computers, but acts powerless to stop it.

September 23, 2025
See all posts