Federal Funding
Basics
Programs that Pay Residents to Give Up Cars Gain Support Worldwide
France may soon pay its residents to trade their private cars for e-bikes, vehicle-share services, and even transit passes — and the move is re-igniting the conversation about unconventional ways our governments can subsidize the greenest modes of transportation.
April 16, 2021
USDOT Grant Program Will Prioritize ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Equity’
The U.S. Department of Transportation is re-branding one of its largest discretionary grant programs to explicitly reward regional and local governments who put equity and sustainability first in their transportation projects. But some advocates are holding their applause until they see how the department will actually define those critical terms.
April 14, 2021
Why Biden Is Right to Think Beyond the DOT in His Infrastructure Package
Opponents of President Biden's infrastructure plan ignore that "transportation infrastructure" must include tackling our frayed social safety nets and our broken street designs.
April 12, 2021
Five Questions About Biden’s Infrastructure Package
President Biden revealed new details about his transformative new infrastructure package today, but sustainable transportation advocates are already questioning how much it will actually transform our national addiction to cars.
March 31, 2021
Amtrak Is Ready to Grow. Will it Finally Get the Subsidy It Deserves?
Amtrak wants intercity rail take its rightful place as an essential component of our public transportation ecosystem, rather than quasi-private afterthought.
February 22, 2021
What The Next Infrastructure Bill Would Look Like If Cities Were In Charge
If city and regional leaders were the ones writing next federal infrastructure bill, mass transit would be a top priority and highways would be de-emphasized, a new study suggests.
February 16, 2021
Memo to Buttigieg: USDOT Needs an Active Transportation Administration
Giving people who walk and roll a voice in Washington is a crucial tool in the fight to change the federal structures that underlie our car-only transportation landscape.
January 21, 2021
Three Reasons to Put the 1980s in the Past And #EndTheEightyTwentySplit
A single, 38-year-old transportation law has locked America into a car-dominated status quo for far too long — and advocates believe the next congress could be the ones to finally get our country out of the 1980s for good.
November 18, 2020
The Five Worst Legacies of the Chao Years — And How to Undo Them
Secretary Elaine Chao's leadership of the Department of Transportation damaged our nation — both in what she did and what she failed to do, experts say.
November 10, 2020
Trump Admin Rejects Transit Mask Mandate, Endangering Transport — Again
The Trump administration declined the request from a prominent transit workers' union the same day the President was admitted to a tax payer-funded hospital for coronavirus.
October 7, 2020