President Joe Biden once drove a school bus to help pay his way through law school. Soon he’ll be in the driver’s seat again, hoping to get the nation’s transportation sector back on track in the wake of a global pandemic that has devastated public transit ridership and revenues.
“I can’t fathom today driving a bus or running a subway without having more protection. I promise you I’ll invest a record amount in infrastructure, dramatically increasing the funding for public transit to help power our recovery,” Biden said in October 2020 during a virtual campaign speech.
Specifically, Biden plans to invest nearly $1.3 trillion into infrastructure over 10 years. During that time, he has promised to bring emissions-free public transit options to every U.S. city that has more than 100,000 residents. Because transportation accounts for over 28% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States – and because public transit actually decreases carbon emissions by 1.5 million tons per year – that could make a huge impact on the environment.