Volts Hey governors: you can salvage sustainable transportation, but you need to do it quick!
24 snips
Nov 5, 2025 Liya Rechtman, Senior Transportation Policy Lead at Evergreen Action and former DOT advisor, dives deep into salvaging sustainable transportation amid federal rollbacks. She explains how states can utilize a little-known authority to shift highway funds towards transit, EV charging, and bike lanes. You'll hear about the critical one-year window for action and the importance of political courage from governors. Liya discusses the impact of outdated traffic models and the barriers to reallocating funds, calling for innovative strategies and urgent state responses.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Use Federal Transfers Now
- Governors can use an underused federal authority to shift highway dollars to fund transit, EV charging, and bike infrastructure.
- Act quickly because the current bipartisan funding formula expires in about a year and may change to be less favorable.
Flexing Is Federally Constrained
- Flexing highway money to transit requires negotiation with federal headquarters and is politically high-lift now.
- The current administration is unlikely to cooperate on flexing, making that route less feasible.
Pennsylvania Saved SEPTA With A Transfer
- Governor Josh Shapiro transferred $47 million from highway projects to save SEPTA for a year.
- That transfer demonstrated the meaningful but politically brave impact of using existing authorities.