TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Our Commonwealth can lead the way forward on Transportation, thanks to the plan Governor Baker would like to put into effect. If we can’t dramatically reduce the amount of pollution from our transportation industry, we will be in even worse shape regarding Climate Change. Please take the need to dramatically reduce CO2 levels seriously and use this initiative to get us to Net Zero in the Transportation Sector by 2030. Please prioritize our State’s “environmental justice” neighborhoods because with this issue, as usual, those contributing the least to the problem are impacted the most- in this case, we need public transportation that is clean and renewable.

As a citizen of Yarmouth, Maine, I strongly support Maine signing on to TCI. While I think that the current program design could be improved, such as by making the cap more stringent, dedicating funds to underserved and low-income communities, and ensuring robust public engagement and feedback throughout the program, I think that these important considerations should not distract from the enormous potential this program holds for Maine and the region. 54% of Maine's greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, the only sector in the state that's growing. Maine must do something to reverse this trend, especially if we are going to reach our climate goals. But it's not just the greenhouse gas emissions that a TCI can help us address. Maine is experiencing a transportation crisis. We are dependent on cars to get to work, school, medical appointments, grocery stores, and all of the other important errands we run every day. Not only are our cars polluting, but they're expensive, costing us thousands of dollars a year in gasoline, insurance, maintenance and repairs, and tolls. They're also ruining our health, polluting the air and making us sit for hours a day as we shuttle from place to place in our busy lives. For those of us without the luxury of having a car, our lack of public transportation often leaves citizens unable to meet basic needs. Mainers deserve better. TCI will provide us with the opportunity to do better. This is an opportunity we can't afford to pass up.

Opponents of TCI are claiming that the program is nothing more than a gas tax, citing the worst-case 17 cents/gallon increase from the modeling. This is not a fair critique. Unlike the money we currently spend at the gas pump, which goes out of state to large oil and gas corporations, these funds would flow directly back to Maine, where it would be invested in reducing emissions and our dependence on single passenger vehicles. We know that this type of model works for Maine because of our experience with RGGI. What's more, we can learn from RGGI to make this program even more effective.

Please support TCI, it's a great opportunity for Maine and the region.

I am delighted to learn about the Transportation and Climate Initiative. The planned changes to transportation in my state and other densely populated states in the northeast are essential to reducing carbon emissions and improving the quality of life in our whole area. I live in a small town om central New Jersey. Every weekday afternoon, the automobile traffic is so jammed up around here that it is, literally, usually faster to walk than to drive in getting around town. The constant car and truck traffic is noisy, it fouls the air, it makes people feel angry and aggressive and simply wears away at any sense that our town is a decent place to live. When I travel to New York Ciry, which I do at least several times a month, I travel by train and then subway. Both of these systems are usually terribly over-crowded at peak commuting hours. It is difficult to plan any kind of meeting in the city because it is impossible to know if one will get there on time. Many of my friends drive when they go to New York simply because they feel more in control -- and when everything is working well, driving can be faster. Fast reliable train and subway systems will make not driving a more obvious choice. And, even more important, the amount of carbon pollution per traveler will be greatly diminished. Without grievous overcrowding, it will be much easier to feel friendly toward our fellow passengers. In short, a well thought out, carbon reducing public transportation system that includes the whole northeast would have so many benefits, it is absurd not to spend whatever it takes to get it done, and as soon as possible. Thank you!

I SUPPORT VERMONT'S JOINING THE TRANSPORTATION AND CLIMATE INITIATIVE. WE MUST NOT MISS THIS COLLECTIVE OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE REVENUES FOR CLIMATE ACTION IN OUR STATE. REFUSING TO JOIN AND EXPERIENCING THE COSTS AND NO BENEFITS WOULD BE A TRAVESTY

Too many of our public buses and trains run on dirty energy and contribute to air pollution and climate change. Many trains, buses, and stations haven’t been retrofitted in decades. For many people in rural parts of our states, there are zero viable public transportation options, which forces them to drive.

By making polluters pay and creating a dedicated source of funding through TCI, we’ll finally be able to move our state to a 21st-century regional transportation system that is cleaner, more reliable, more accessible, and more affordable. We’ll see less traffic, thousands of new jobs, and less dangerous air pollution. All communities — whether urban, suburban, or rural — will benefit.

Reducing pollution from transportation is a key component to reducing Pennsylvania's emissions. Public transit investments that could be made with TCI proceeds would be valuable; please choose the aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target that climate science requires, prioritizing clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don’t have access to transportation choices.

We are already behind on these initiatives and need to get moving on TCI.

Maine has so many rural areas without access to transportation alternatives that will help lower emissions. And we need affordable, incentivized ways to help individually make an impact.

Full steam ahead, we are behind this!

I am writing as a concerned citizen, mother and grandmother who believes we must do all we can to keep the planet safe for our families and future generations. Therefore we must concentrate on reducing carbon emissions now. Transportation is Vermont’s weakest sector, which is why Vermont especially needs to join TCI and help lead the northeast to a cleaner energy future.
Cap and invest programs are not new to Vermont. Since Gov. Douglas signed Vermont on to RGGI in 2008, Vermont’s cap and invest program has successfully reduced consumer costs and carbon pollution from the power sector by 40%, and its revenues have raised $2 million annually for weatherization programs to help Vermonters stop wasting energy and save money. Given that we know this type of project works, adopting TCI makes perfect sense. As I grow older I want to be able to age in place, and having greener options for transportation is the only way I’ll be able to do it. I am urging you on behalf of Vermonters like me and my aging friends as well as generations of future Vermonters to make sure that Vermont formally joins TCI. We must use every opportunity to create a clean energy future that works better for everyone, especially our most vulnerable. Thank you for the work you’ve done so far to advance TCI across the region. 

As a coastal state with water on 3 sides, it behooves us to change the character and emissions standards of our transportation system. We absolutely need more mass transit and more EVs to do our part in keeping down the rising sea levels. The Bergen Record had an article this last summer that put a possible more than 26 Super Storm Sandys by 2100. Investment now, by comparison, looks cheap.