The American Conservative Center for Public Transportation is a new think tank providing "a home and a voice for conservatives who think public transportation, particularly passenger trains and streetcars, have important roles to play in America’s future." The co-founders are conservative rail transit proponent William Lind and former Federal Transit Administration division chief Glen Bottoms. Lind co-authored Moving Minds: Conservatives and Public Transportation with the late Paul M. Weyrich, a well-known conservative supporter of rail transportation.

Streetsblog DC runs an interview with Bottoms, who offers three reasons for supporting public transportation:

"One is that we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Right now 90 percent of recoverable oil is controlled by foreign governments, most of which don’t wish us very well. Second is economic development. We’ve found that using streetcars in cities downtown spawns development. And third is that conservatives are traditional.  Streetcars are a way to preserve neighborhoods by effectively promoting neighborhood cohesion and vitality."