Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
High Speed Rail

Is the Obama Administration Poised to Push Transit?

While President Barack Obama promoted wind power and cap-and-trade legislation, VP Joe Biden spent Earth Day talking up transit. Public radio's "The Takeaway"
reports that Biden held a presser at a bus maintenance facility in
Landover, Maryland, to tout a $300 million investment in hybrid buses
and other municipal vehicles as part of the federal stimulus package.
Said Biden:

This program, the CleanCities program, is in its 15th year. Already it's saved two billiongallons of petroleum used since its inception. And now, it's time toramp it up. Ramp it up in a big way. We know it works.

As
reporter Andrea Bernstein points out, this is not breaking news. What's
interesting, she says, is the seemingly intensifying focus of the White
House on transit as the fight over the next round of federal
transportation spending approaches.

Iwould say that up to now there has been mostly disappointment amongpeople who care about mass transit in the Obama administration. Peoplefelt that the recovery act only had $8 billion dollars, now that's $8billion but it's $8 billion out of $800 billion, so that's 1% andthat's all the money for transit, and they were saying that isn'tenough money, it doesn't show a real commitment, you can't reallychange things with that.

So when they begin to see theadministration talking about high speed rail, when they begin to seethe administration talking about mass transit going as Joe Biden didyesterday to a transit station for his Earth Day thing, they'rethinking ok, so maybe this administration is going to put seriousmuscle behind this. As a reauthorization fight comes up, speaking to alobbyist from NRDC who has expressed great disappointment up to now,and he said you know, I think things may be beginning to turn.

So
what do you think? Are you seeing evidence of an emerging, pro-transit
agenda from DC these days? Could Biden's enthusiasm over buses and Ray LaHood's cyclist pledge
be part and parcel of a preemptive push to shake up the asphalt-loaded
federal funding formula -- or is the admin simply playing to an
attention-starved constituency?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Don’t Believe the Hydrogen Train Hype

Calling hydrogen-powered trains "zero emission" is misleading at best - and even if they were, they lost the race to be "first" a long time ago

July 16, 2024

Upcoming CicLAvia Maps: August in the Hollywoods, September in Lincoln Heights, and More

Mark your calendars: August 18 in West Hollywood through East Hollywood, September 15 in Lincoln Heights, October 13 in the Heart of L.A., and December 8 in the Valley

July 15, 2024

This Week In Livable Streets

Metro board committees, Metro and Caltrans 605/5/10/60/105 freeway expansion, Arroyo Seco ride, C Line delays, 105 Freeway corridor equity, and more

July 15, 2024
See all posts