TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I think that it is very important to modernize and build new public transportation throughout the state of Connecticut. Many of the current transportation systems in place are old and inefficient. Constructing new transportation that prioritizes efficiency, especially in terms of energy, will be extremely important during a time of growing climate crisis. Good public transportation helps those who are unable to afford vehicles have greater access to jobs and opportunity, stimulating economic growth. When a public transportation system is modernized, people will be more likely to use it, generating revenue for the system and cutting down on emissions from cars. Most importantly, implementing public transportation that runs on clean energy will be an extremely important step towards reducing environmental impact in the current environmental crisis. Improvements to public transportation should include: an expansion of charging stations for electric vehicles, electric buses charged by solar power, and an increase in public railways to connect parts of Connecticut while reducing carbon output.

The residents of Maine cannot afford more taxes. The Transportation and Climate Initiative would put a tremendous burden on all citizens, especially those who live in rural areas with absolutely no other means of getting around but for their cars. Rural Mainers ofter travel great distances daily to get to their jobs and seniors must make frequent visits to their doctors and pharmacies. Any additional taxes on gasoline will hurt Mainers and might also prevent future growth of business in Maine. We don't need nor can Mainers afford any more taxes. Put on your thinking caps and I'm sure you can come up with ways to help our economy and the people of Maine without additional taxes.

We do NOT want or need this crap in Maine! We cannot afford any more tax hikes; winter is very hard on a lot of us. I drive sometimes over 200 miles a day, just to get to work and back. Tax hikes will make it much harder for me to pay my bills. No more left wing nonsense please!

I am wholeheartedly in favor of encouraging the use of Pittsburgh city buses for commuting by reducing travel and wait times. I would also like diesel buses replaced with electric ones (both city buses and school buses).

I support the TCI and hope that Vermont will participate fully. I recognize that rural states face challenges in achieving cleaner transportation, but we need to keep moving in that direction, and adding a modest charge to our carbon fuels is essential. We need to do this both to incentivize reductions in consumption and also fund clean alternatives. I know there will be howls of protest, but let me point out that these same voices are silent when market forces push fuel prices up, often by amounts greater than those proposed for TCI. Let's build into the price of our fuels an increment that will not go to out-of-state corporate profits, but instead fund important changes to our transportation system.

Transportation is the number one source of climate pollution in the United States. That means it's time to totally reimagine the way that we transport people and goods.

The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the city of Washington, D.C., are working on a groundbreaking policy to modernize the transportation sector under the Transportation and Climate Initiative.

In order for this regional plan to work, governors of these states and the mayor of Washington, D.C., must ensure that this transportation plan is bold enough to cut harmful transportation pollution at the scale needed to avert the climate crisis. We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:

More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas;
Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable; and
Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities.

We need to turn the tide to demonstrate how many people want to see a bold and ambitious plan to cut transportation pollution in their state and in the region.

Thank you for your consideration.