Dive Brief: - Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy proposed eliminating the Highway Trust Fund’s mass transit account, which provides funding for public transportation, in a July 22 letter outlining the administration’s priorities that was sent to six senators serving on committees with influence over the next surface transportation legislation. - Duffy also proposed cutting funding for Complete Streets activities that focus on safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, bicycle lanes and grants for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. A competitive grant program to fund solutions to traffic congestion in U.S. cities would eliminate public transit system improvements and tolling programs from eligibility. - None of the members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where the legislation was drafted, were copied on Duffy’s letter. Dive Insight: The draft House bill authorizes $87.6 billion from the mass transit account of the Highway Trust Fund over fiscal years 2027 to 2031, an increase from $69.8 billion allocated in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The DOT’s proposal to do away with the mass transit account, which was established by Congress in 1982, would put more than 85% of federal public transit and passenger rail funding at risk, according to an emailed statement from the American Public Transportation Association. The administration’s key transportation goals include improving transit safety and security, supporting development of autonomous vehicles, ensuring freight railroad safety and building or expanding interstate highways, according to the letter. Duffy proposed creating a voluntary AV pilot program “with preemptive authority to avoid a patchwork of State laws,” the letter said. The DOT’s policy would give priority to motor vehicles over bike lanes. “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