Source: https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/, Dan Zukowski, First Published September 17th, 2025

FTA administrator pledges partnership with transit authorities on safety, efficiency, accessibility

Federal Transit Administrator Marcus Molinaro promised to reduce regulatory burdens and accelerate project delivery while urging transit agencies to address crime and operate efficiently.

Dive Brief:

• Federal Transit Administrator Marcus Molinaro said safety, efficiency and accessibility are among the agency’s top priorities during an address Monday at the American Public Transportation Association’s annual meeting in Boston. 
• Molinaro emphasized the FTA’s role as a partner in helping people get where they need to go and the role of local authorities in transit development and public safety.
• “American families want to trust that when they enter and make use of a public transportation system, that they will get to where they’re going efficiently, effectively, affordably and safely,” he said.

Dive Insight:

A new administration in the White House brought changes in federal priorities for cities, states and transit authorities this year. 

In April, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened funding for projects that include diversity, equity and inclusion practices. In August, the FTA proposed new guidelines that would eliminate the “social cost of carbon” calculation for Capital Investment Grant programs, returning to a methodology used before 2013.

During Monday’s speech, Molinaro outlined the main priorities for transit agencies, governing bodies and the FTA.

Reduce crime on transit systems. “The safety of those who rely on transportation systems around America and the security of their systems is without question the top priority of this administration, and we will confront it boldly, bluntly and in some ways unorthodox,” Molinaro said.

Assaults, robberies, drug use and fare evasion should not be “normalized,” he said, adding that local leaders who tolerate these crimes make transit systems less safe.

“Buses aren’t roaming homeless shelters,” he said. “We cannot allow an environment [on transit property] that breeds lawlessness.”

Increase accessibility for transit riders. “We will make universal accessibility and universal design a priority” in both transit vehicles and stations, Molinaro said. Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act “is the floor, not the ceiling,” he added. 

Ensure that transit authorities efficiently manage their systems. “We’re going to put priority on making sure that the system you have is invested in before we start looking at things that may not necessarily generate new revenue opportunity,” he said. The FTA will “start measuring transit as it relates to economic growth [and] economic opportunity.”

Streamline regulations to speed up project delivery. “Secretary Duffy wants to build big, wants to build fast, wants to build on time and under budget” by “cutting red tape, reforming some of our regulatory environments, making it easier to navigate through the maze of federal, state and local agencies,” Molinaro said.

Along with other federal agencies, the Transportation Department began updating its procedures for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act. The DOT said in the Federal Register that these changes would improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary delays. 

Support U.S. transit equipment manufacturers. Molinaro emphasized the need to ensure that major manufacturers of rolling stock and transit buses have reliable resources, allowing them to have “clear expectations for delivering for transit agencies.”

He also urged agencies and cities to leverage public-private partnerships. “If your local municipality hasn’t confronted density of development so that you can actually get the kind of dense infill in and around transit hubs and connectors, we’re going to think differently about your proposal.”

Molinaro summed up by saying that “every decision should be based on one question: Will this make transit safer, more accessible and more useful for American families?”

Source: https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/, Ryan Kushner, First Published September 19th, 2025

Amazon pledged to deliver affordable housing to the Puget Sound region. It just hit 10,000 units.

The milestone resulted from the company’s $900 million investment in housing that will remain affordable for 99 years.

Dive Brief:

• Amazon announced it has helped build or preserve more than 10,000 affordable housing units in the Puget Sound region, following through on a pledge made in 2021 to boost supply. 
• The online retail giant, headquartered in Seattle, said it has invested more than $900 million in affordable housing in the region, benefitting 22,000 residents. It has worked with local developers and housing authorities to meet the milestone, issuing grants and below-market loans from its multi-billion-dollar housing fund.
• Amazon said it is committed to keeping the housing affordable for 99 years. A majority of the housing supports households that earn 30% to 80% of the area median income, which in the Puget Sound region is $106,100. 

Dive Insight:

Greater Seattle has a housing affordability problem. In 2021, Amazon announced it would open its wallet to help address the issue.

The company brought a flood of high-paying tech positions to the area, pricing many medium- and low-income households out of the market, some experts say. In 2024, the area’s median home price surged to $755,000, the second highest in the nation.

Amazon committed $2 billion in 2021 to help establish more than 20,000 affordable housing options in three areas it most impacted: the Puget Sound region, Arlington, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee. Last year, the company announced it had exceeded that goal two years ahead of schedule.

Amazon is not the only tech juggernaut promising to fund affordable housing. Microsoft, also based in Washington, committed $73 million in affordable housing grants and investments to the Puget Sound region in 2022. Google, Meta and Apple have pledged to bridge the affordability gap in other regions, as well, but a recent Wall Street Journal report revealed mixed results so far.

Joe Thompson, president of Mercy Housing Northwest, which owns and operates affordable housing units in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, said Amazon’s impact on affordable housing development in the Puget Sound region has been “transformative.”

In its 2024 impact report, Amazon said its fund has helped increase affordable housing units in Bellevue, Washington, by 31%.

“Their approach combines critical financial resources with a genuine commitment to long-term community stability through 99-year affordability requirements,” Thompson said in a release. “At Connection Angle Lake, this partnership allowed us to create not just housing, but a community where residents can thrive near transit, jobs, and services.”