TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I live in a rural area with limited pubic transportation therefore I think that TCI is extremely important. I would like to drive less and take public transportation more. When states join TCI, they have the opportunity to invest in rural communities where transportation options are limited. Joining TCI would allow Maryland to ensure that rural communities aren’t left behind in the green transition and stuck behind the wheel of costly, inefficient vehicle that are the main source of pollution and green house gasses.. Governor Hogan should push for an ambitious TCI program so that rural communities like mine get the solutions they need. Specifically, we need more Marc train service not just the limited offering of 2020. We need more busses run by clean energy to offer connections to public transportation. We need something like a Monorail service from Shady Grove Metro to Frederick. This is just the area I know about. I know there are lots more.

Since transportation is the largest source of air pollution in our metropolitan regions, we need to build a modern, clean, safe, and accessible and affordable transportation system for the 21st century. Fighting climate change and air pollution requires that we limit pollution from motor fuels. This "fight" will create more jobs , stimulate the economy, and by providing cleaner air save lives. Maryland should join TCI to fund better transportation infrastructure, reduce traffic, and make our state a cleaner, safer place to live.

We should all I favor TCI for many reasons.

We know that the combustion of diesel fuel and gasoline in cars, trucks, and trains is increasing the prevalence of asthma and heart disease and is costing millions of dollars in extra healthcare costs. We know that gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles are currently the major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Rhode Island. We know they have greatly contributed to our historic emissions of those long-lived pollutants. When products cause public harm, it is sensible public policy to charge the suppliers of those products or to tax the consumers of those products. I favor TCI because it imposes a fee on the suppliers of products that cause public harm.

None of us like sitting in traffic. None of us like hunting for a parking spot. None of us like paying to park our cars in Providence or at the beach. Most of us would prefer fast, frequent, convenient, clean, and affordable public transit to those destinations. We who enjoy bicycling and running do not like riding and running on streets where we are at risk from motor vehicles; we would prefer more, safer, better paths for bikes and runners. A lack of money is keeping us from having the things we would prefer. I favor TCI because it will provide money for better public transit and safer streets and paths.

I favor TCI because it will provide the incentives needed to build the new electric infrastructure we will need and want.

Electric cars are cheaper to operate and maintain, quieter, more convenient, and more fun to drive. Electric trucks and buses will be better neighbors. EVs will soon cost no more than conventional vehicles. And yet, many people have no place they could charge an EV -- not where they work, and not where they sleep. There is a lot of work to be done building that charging infrastructure, and lots of workers will be needed. TCI will help local businesses and local workers.

As an engineer and the founder of a Rhode Island company that employs over 50 people, I know that transitions from one era to another create opportunities for new business growth and new careers. We are clearly in the early stage of a rapid transition in how we generate and use energy. We can continue to bleed billions of dollars a year away to fossil fuel providers outside our state, or we can take sensible steps to wean ourselves off those polluting fuels and facilitate the transition to a cleaner, cheaper, better, more beautiful future. TCI is a sensible step.

Putting a big battery in every garage and driveway will be a good way to soak up low cost energy from solar panels and wind turbines when those generators peak. Increasing electricity consumption will help to lower the cost per kWh. TCI will cause both things to occur faster.

I applaud the public servants and private sector experts who have worked so hard on TCI thus far, and I hope that our legislators and fellow citizens will strongly support the adoption of this new policy.

I applaud all the efforts to promoted alternative transportation methods. So much so that I believe education and training in these methods must become part of the curriculum in public schools, as they are in schools in many other countries in Europe and Asia, as well as Washington D.C.
Cycling specifically, if we hope to see more diverse participation, must be recognized as an essential skill, and included in the physical education curriculum, beginning in kindergarten. There seems to be a serious effort to grow the active transportation culture, that's what schools are for, training the next generation for the challenges they will face. For a healthier more self-reliant republic teach the children to ride bikes and incentivize the practice.

On behalf of the Jonah Center for Earth and Art in Middletown and Portland, Connecticut, I am writing in support of the Transportation & Climate Initiative since a significant percentage of greenhouse gas emissions stem from the transportation sector. Furthermore, because our highways are congested by our society’s heavy reliance on single passenger vehicles, we need to help our transportation system evolve to rely more on public transit, active transportation such a bicycles, and reduce the carbon footprint of those vehicles that will be on the roads. Climate change remains a severe threat to human society, but it is no longer just a threat. It is a looming reality. Technical solutions will not save us. Rather, technology and informed public policy and regulations are urgently needed to help us avoid the most severe and sudden effects of climate change.

Please see the attached comments from The Nature Conservancy on the framework for a draft regional policy proposal.

Please see the attached file for The Nature Conservancy's comments on equity provisions in the TCI program.