The Department of Transportation is scrubbing the internet. Or at least its own corner of it.
Federal employees are being ordered to find and delete mentions of bikes. Bike lanes. Bicycle safety. It is a systematic removal of information that has existed on government websites for years.
An NPR investigation reveals the scope. Dozens of safety pages are gone. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool? Deleted. In just one week.
Inside the agency, the mood is not celebratory. One anonymous DOT staffer called the directive “asinine.” They said it wasn’t making the sites better, faster, or quicker. It was just… less.
So why is the Trump administration doing this?
Why the DOT Is Deleting Bicycle Safety Data
A spokesperson gave a clear, if combative, answer.
“Since nearly 80% of thepopulation uses cars to get to work… we are taking a closer look at federal.”
The logic is straightforward. Most people drive. Therefore, the federal government should focus on them. The spokesperson added a sharp dig at critics, claiming opponents wanted everyone to “ride a bike to their shoebox-sized apartment.”
This is not just about cleaning up old links. It is an ideological shift in how federal transportation money is spent.
Secretary Sean Duffy set the stage earlier. He called Biden-era transit initiatives “DEI pet projects.” He tweeted that he had redirected $1.73 billion in USDOT grants. The money is now locked in for “America’s actual backbone.”
He listed those priorities:
- Roads
- Bridges
- Shipping ports
Two days after that post, the cleanup orders went out. Staffers had to update content to align with this new direction.
Which Resources Are Disappearing?
It is not just blog posts. These are technical resources. The kind of tools urban planners and safety analysts rely on.
The removal of the Crash Analysis Tool is particularly jarring. That data helps cities understand where accidents happen. Where to put guardrails. Where to widen sidewalks. Without it, the data remains, but the public access point is gone.
This follows a broader pattern of cutting climate-related content. The former climate.gov domain has been effectively erased from federal operations. Alternative transportation infrastructure is no longer a priority.
“Now this funding is officially locked in to…” – Sean Duffy
The Cost of Choosing Roads Over Bikes
There is a timing element to this. Oil prices just hit $100 a barrel. Why? Hostilities returned between the US and Iran.
So here we are. Gas is expensive. The administration is defunding bike safety data.
Is this a coincidence? Or a statement?
If the goal is to make travel cheaper for the 80% who drive, deleting safety resources seems backward. Safe infrastructure lowers long-term costs. It reduces liability. It keeps people alive.
But the order was clear. Remove the bikes. Focus on the roads.
The infrastructure is being rebuilt. Just not for everyone.
