Trump administration urges Congress to diminish public transportation

The Trump administration is urging Congress to deprioritize bicycle lanes and mass transit, cut funding for electric vehicle charging stations and speed adoption of self-driving cars as part of legislation needed to renew federal transportation programs.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a letter to lawmakers seen by Reuters on Thursday, also called on Congress to provide New York Penn Station with another $1 billion for its reconstruction and to direct Amtrak to rename Penn Station.

Reuters reported in February the Trump administration offered to unfreeze some transportation funds if Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader, agreed to support renaming Penn Station after President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives last week passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, but it faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Trump is personally calling senators urging them to support it.

Duffy wants it passed as part of legislation needed by the end of September. The five-year surface transportation law expires Sept. 30.

The House proposed a new five-year bill that would authorize $580 billion in funding and require owners of electric vehicles to ​pay a $130 fee for road repairs annually.

"Adopting permanent Daylight Saving Time would eliminate the needless time, hassle, and cost involved in changing clocks twice a year, and a study found that it would prevent hundreds of traffic deaths every year by shifting daylight to times of day when more Americans drive," Duffy wrote.

Duffy wants Congress to approve a number of provisions for self-driving cars, including a voluntary pilot program for manufacturers to deploy robotaxis and preempt state rules and eliminate the 2,500-vehicle annual cap on some deployments.

He urged lawmakers to end some grant programs including one geared toward supporting bicycle lanes and eliminate the Mass Transit Account within the Highway Trust Fund and consolidate fuel tax revenue into the highway fund.

While overall traffic deaths have fallen, bicyclist deaths ​rose 4% to 1,148 last year. Supporters of adding bicycle lanes say they can help reduce deaths and injuries.

"We urge Congress to restrict competitive and formula grant funding for bicycle lanes and other bicycle infrastructure that reduce travel throughput for motor vehicles and support removal of existing bike lanes that contribute to congestion," Duffy wrote.

The U.S. Transportation Department in February 2025 suspended an EV charger infrastructure program enacted by Congress in 2021 and a judge declared that unlawful in January.

Many lawmakers expect Congress to temporarily extend the current law beyond the November midterm elections. The Transportation Department is pressing to include some of its priorities in any short-term extension.