Equitable and Sustainable Transit Is Critical to Reduce Emissions and Expand Economic Opportunity
By Adewale Maye
Since the beginning of President Biden’s term, his administration has been vocal about its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease the country’s fossil fuel dependency, and broadly combat the effects of climate change and its implications on the economy and the most at-risk communities. On April 22, 2021, Biden set a target goal for the United States to achieve a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030. This goal would be met concurrently with the Biden Administration’s top priority of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. These commitments are both necessary and ambitious, requiring critical investment in transforming fossil fuel-dependent industries and institutions into ones that are sustainable and accessible. One of the critical ways the U.S. can widely reduce greenhouse gas emissions is through the transportation sector.
Transportation-related emissions comprise over one-quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.; within transportation, light-duty vehicles generate an overwhelming majority (57 percent) of emissions. The Biden Administration has identified possible solutions to combating growing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions and making more low-carbon choices available to travelers, including:
reducing tailpipe emissions and boosting the efficiency of cars and trucks;
providing funding for charging infrastructure; and
investing in a wider array of transportation infrastructure, including transit, rail, and biking improvements.
To meet the needs of accessible and reliable public transportation, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in November 2021. In addition to its surface transportation reauthorization, which continues to fund existing transit programs for five years, this landmark law designates $39 billion of new investment to modernize transit.. Specifically, IIJA will expand public transit options across every state in the country; replace thousands of deficient transit vehicles, including buses, with clean, zero-emission vehicles; and improve accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities. In total, the surface transportation reauthorization and these new investments provide $89.9 billion in guaranteed funding for public transit over the next five years — the largest federal investment in public transit in history.
Public transportation investments are overwhelmingly popular. Recent Data for Progress polling finds that 75 percent of likely voters support the U.S. government making investments to expand and maintain public transit infrastructure.