Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc
totally on board with this, unless anyone has a better idea? a usdot office to guide and support major transit projects and while we are at it another for support for road diets and adding pedestrian/bike lanes. why do cars get all the help and not other forms of transit?  |
Cars , trucks, and highways do not get "all" the help. Just look at the latest USDOT budgets breakdowns. This is a recent Trump budget proposal pre-pandemic.
https://www.transportation.gov/sites...otbh2019-b.pdf
Total USDOT budget = $76.5 billion
The Department’s budget is composed of approximately
20 percent discretionary general fund dollars and 80 percent
mandatory trust fund dollars.
Mandatory programs = $60.9 billion
Discretionary programs = $15.6 billion
Federal Highway Administration $45.790 billion
Federal Aviation Administration $16.122 billion
Federal Transit Administration $11.118 billion
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration $914.7 million
Federal Railroad Administration $854.0 million
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration $665.8 million
Maritime Administration $396.4 million
Office of the Secretary $390.1 million
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration $254.3 million
And repeating what I wrote before, this was a Trump budget that arrived on Capital Hill Dead On Arrival.
Obviously railroads seem to get shorted, but if you reflect on the fact that Uncle Sam collects no "Trust Fund" taxes from Railroads at all, that every penny spent on Railroads comes from discretionary allocations, not too surprising. If you wish to fund Railroads more, how about adding Railroad taxes to the Trust Fund bank accounts? Are you willing to pay a Trust Fund tax over and beyond your fares to ride on local and intercity passenger trains?