Transit on the Chopping Block: How These Cuts Hit Home

According to POLITICO, the Trump Administration is weighing a plan that would take away most federal funding for buses, trains, and other public transit – and even block states from using their own federal transportation dollars to keep those services running.

In other words, it would make it much harder for communities of all sizes to maintain the transit people rely on to get to work, school, medical appointments, and daily errands.

Transportation for America didn’t mince their words in response. They called the proposal “short-sighted,” warning that it would “strand millions of Americans” and “annihilate state and local transportation budgets.” They also reminded us that federal support for transit has been bipartisan for more than four decades, dating back to a deal signed by President Reagan in 1982. 

I bet you never thought you’d miss the progressive politics of Ronald Reagan.

Here in Colorado, we’ve already seen what happens when federal support suddenly vanishes. In October, 4CORE lost more than half a million dollars in federal clean energy funding when the Administration terminated $7.5 billion in grants nationwide. The cuts forced us to lay off staff and scale back programs in Pagosa Springs, Saguache County, Cortez, and Ignacio – communities that depend on consistent support to plan for future energy and mobility needs.

So when we hear that federal leaders are now eyeing transit funding, it’s hard not to connect the dots. These decisions aren’t abstract or distant. They determine whether someone can get to their job on time, whether an older adult can reach a doctor’s appointment, whether a family without a car can pick up groceries.

At a moment when communities are working hard to provide reliable, low-cost ways for people to get around, the federal government is doing everything it can to get in their way. Call your representatives and tell them that cutting transit will only move our country in reverse.