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Former President Donald Trump will become the next President of the United States. After the Biden administration, which invested billions of dollars in Amtrak, high-speed rail, public transit and the transition to electric vehicles and buses, what might change with the incoming administration?
On transportation policy affecting cities and states across the country, Trump has a mixed record. In his first term, he proposed a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan that never came to fruition. He repeatedly tried and failed to cut funding for Amtrak’s long-distance trains and tried to claw back nearly $3.5 billion in federal grants already awarded for California’s high-speed rail project to connect Los Angeles and San Francis. Instead, the first Trump administration heavily favored highway expansion projects.
Smart Cities Dive asked experts Wednesday morning for their thoughts on how the second Trump administration could affect the next transportation policy affecting US cities.
“The Trump administration in the past and the overall focus of the Republican Party has been to advocate for significant cuts to public transit,” said Yonah Freemark, director of research at the Urban Institute’s Land Use Lab . He added that pursuing these policies next year “could be absolutely devastating to urban transit systems.”
Federal grant programs under the Trump administration will likely focus on roads and rural areas, marking a major shift from the Biden administration’s priority of transit, bicyclists and pedestrians, Freemark said.
However, rural Americans want more trains, not less, some rail advocates say. Staff at the Rail Passengers Association have been traveling across the country for the past two years in an effort to restore disrupted train routes, and “we’ve heard from rural communities that feel disconnected and left behind,” he said. say Sean Jeans-Gail. RPA Vice President of Affairs and Policy.
The previous Trump administration blocked funding for the Gateway Project in New York and New Jersey to build a new two-track tunnel and rehabilitate existing tunnels under the Hudson River that carry Amtrak intercity trains and New Jersey commuter trains transit The project began construction this year under the Biden administration.
“Investment in infrastructure has always had bipartisan support, and President-elect Trump has promised to strengthen America’s economy,” the Regional Plan Association said in an emailed statement. “Delaying these capital investments only increases their costs and weakens our economy. We will look to our delegation and leadership in the House and Senate to continue these investments.”
Trump opposes New York’s plan to toll drivers entering Manhattan at or below 60th Street, which would generate needed funds for subways, buses and commuter trains. He vowed on May 24 on social media to “END congestion pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in office!!!” The plan has been on hold since New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered an indefinite pause in implementing congestion pricing on June 5.
In an emailed statement Wednesday, Riders Alliance director of policy and communications Danny Pearlstein urged the governor to reverse his position before Trump’s inauguration. “Governor Hochul must race against time to secure the money New Yorkers need to fix our aging subway and protect riders from climate change,” he said.
The Biden administration made a major effort to support the transition to electric vehicles, including a $5 billion program to create a network of electric vehicle charging stations every 50 miles along the interstate highway system or within a mile of an interstate exit, and federal incentives for electric vehicle buyers.
But “all electric vehicle policies are on the table” with the incoming administration, said Genevieve Cullen, president of the unit’s Electric Transportation Association. “What will hopefully emerge from the fog of campaign rhetoric is that when people look more closely at these electric vehicle policies, they will understand more clearly what the impact is on investment and jobs in the States United, and how consumers and communities benefit,” he said.
More clarity on the new president’s policies will emerge in the coming months.
