Steven G. Bradbury, transit and Imaginative and prescient Zero opponent, named Deputy DOT Secretary nominee
Although transportation has usually bridged social gathering divides, simply two weeks into President Trump’s second time period there are quite a few indicators that this development might shift. As Normal Counsel for USDOT throughout Trump’s first time period and a present Distinguished Fellow on the Heritage Basis, Steven Bradbury has made clear his dislike of public transportation, clear vitality reform, and pedestrian security efforts. His key function in authoring Mission 2025’s Chapter 19 on transportation helps make clear his views on American transportation.
President Trump’s alternative for Deputy DOT Secretary authored the transportation part of Mission 2025, which requires ending federal assist for transit initiatives, Imaginative and prescient Zero and gas economic system requirements. Picture courtesy of Transport Matters.
Hostile in the direction of transit
Whereas DOT’s mission is to attach communities, enhance accessibility, security, and promote mobility alternative, Bradbury has known as for the alternative. In Mission 2025, he proposed fully abolishing all federal funds for brand new transit and main enhancements or expansions. Abolishing transit Capital Funding Grants (CIG) would reduce billions from main transit businesses throughout the U.S. and hobble efforts to construct new transit, broaden transit, or make substantial core enhancements to present transit. It’s attention-grabbing, nevertheless, that he has not known as for the top of federal transit formulation funding. Nonetheless, the demand for expansions and enhancements is prone to develop, as transit utilization is lastly rising post-pandemic.
Transit is already severely underfunded, notably in comparison with highways, but Bradbury needs to “transfer away from utilizing the Freeway Belief Fund to prop up mass transit.” By no means thoughts that the Freeway Belief Fund has been backed by all taxpayers with common fund {dollars} to the tune of greater than $275 billion since 2008. Whereas motorists profit daily from backed roads, he appears to suppose transit riders shouldn’t obtain the identical therapy.
Electrical autos are in his crosshairs, too
Bradbury has attacked all issues emissions-regulating, launching an assault in opposition to electrical autos. He criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s “radical EV targets,” claiming Company Common Gas Financial system (CAFE) requirements, which intention to decrease emissions dangerous to well being and the atmosphere for brand new automobiles, will solely power lower-income households to drive older, unsafe automobiles.
The declare that older automobiles are harmful is an previous argument that was extra true earlier than security rules put into place 15 years in the past requiring backup cameras and excessive crashworthy requirements. It additionally appears to disregard the hazard attributable to model new SUVs and vans with enormous entrance blind zones and hood heights so tall that crashes hit pedestrians within the head and chest making them 45 p.c extra prone to kill.
He appears to suppose pace is extra vital than security
Regardless of the variety of individuals killed whereas strolling growing 75 p.c since 2010, he needs to abolish Imaginative and prescient Zero as a federal coverage, calling it an method “actively searching for congestion for cars to scale back speeds.” T4America’s high precedence is Security over Pace, whereas Bradbury needs to “refocus the FHWA on sustaining and bettering the freeway system.” Apparently, “bettering” doesn’t embody security enhancements. (We marvel what his place could be on making a requirement for states to spend formulation {dollars} on repairing their roads and bridges earlier than making expensive expansions?)
USDOT has already shut down the Nationwide Security Council’s Street to Zero program on the grounds that it violates certainly one of President Trump’s government orders, although it’s unclear which one. This administration has been centered on ending automobile effectivity, variety, local weather and environmental justice applications, however that is the primary piece of proof that USDOT might view saving lives as a partisan trigger.
Whereas Bradbury gained’t be operating USDOT, his appointment to this high publish is an honest sign that we should always anticipate to see USDOT both decelerate or fully halt all grants for brand new transit initiatives (ramping up what we noticed within the first Trump administration), an assault on electrification total, and each effort made to roll again any modest enhancements on prioritizing security.
