Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg has recently released, “Building for the 21st Century: An infrastructure plan to create jobs, increase resilience, and usher in a new era of opportunity,” a $1 trillion infrastructure package that Buttigieg’s administration would pursue should he be elected President.

In an effort to ensure that CTAA members are familiar with the potential Presidential candidates’ proposed infrastructure policy, we will be releasing key highlights of every candidate’s policy proposals.

If elected, Buttigieg is promising to enact the following changes to public transportation:

• Rural transit programs (Section 5311) would receive a $12 billion increase. He expects this funding to increase access to existing transit options, create new rural transit hubs, and leverage new technologies like ride-sharing services.
• Funding for the Low/No Emissions Program would triple.
• Federally funded transportation programs will go through a new review practice that would seek to determine how effectively it connects people to jobs and services or goods to market.
• There would be an investment of $160 billion in partnering with states, cities, towns, and tribes to improve public transportation.
• The plan would add $165 billion into the Highway Trust Fund to ensure that it remains solvent through 2029. The DOT would also propose a new and sustainable user fee-based system, such as a vehicle-miles-traveled fee, with privacy protections, that could potentially replace the gas tax. The proposed pilot program would include a sliding scale for those with a lower income.
• The plan provides $100 billion in grants and loans for cities and towns to bring existing transit systems to a State of Good Repair and rail systems.