TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

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.

We can cut poverty and pollution at the same time. I urge you to move forward with a regional program that prioritizes the needs of communities overburdened with pollution and underserved in mobility options.

I support the TCI because we need to do everything possible to address climate change and we have no time to waste. Additionally, we can cut poverty and pollution at the same time. We urge you to move forward with a regional program that prioritizes the needs of communities overburdened with pollution and underserved in mobility options.”

The key to wider adoption of electric vehicles is building out a robust fast-charging infrastructure. Until consumers see DC fast-charging stations as a practical alternative to gas stations, they will be reluctant to consider buying electric cars. TCI should incentive or subsidize installation of tens of thousands of fast-charging stations of minimum 150 kW -- and the signage and advertising necessary to give them visibility to the wider public. New regulations could even REQUIRE gas stations to provide space for charging vendors like EVgo, Electrify America, Tesla, or local power authorities, to install EV fast-charging stations.

Level 2 charging stations are far less useful in general - but would be very useful in urban areas if paired with parking spots where residents could leave their cars overnight or throughout the week. These should be special street parking areas with Level 2 charging stations and suitable enforcement to heavily penalize internal combustion cars from parking in those spots. In my location (Brooklyn, NY), where most people don't have driveways, I'm sure that more people would buy EV's if they would be assured of parking spots paired with Level 2 charging!

I own a Tesla Model 3. I charge it from my home when I can get the parking spot in front of my house, and I frequently use Tesla Superchargers when I travel. But not everyone can organize their lives around parking and charging; we need to make electric vehicle charging as plentiful as gas stations.

I applaud your work to reduce carbon-emissions by working cooperatively. Carbon emissions do not stop at the border of any particular state, so it is imperative for the states (and DC) to work together, supporting each other's needs, which my vary somewhat. It is time to: 1) encourage people to use public transit by making it affordable, convenient, and pleasant to use. This is a worthwhile financial investment. 2) tax sources of carbon emissions--cars, trucks, gasoline, and major industrial supplies of the products. 3) Invest heavily in alternative forms of energy, especially wind and solar. Fossil fuels are no longer a good investment. Solar and wind are the energy solutions of the future--that's when the smart money should go.

The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) is an opportunity for Virginia and the Washington, DC metro region to reduce fossil fuel emissions and invest in clean transportation options including electric cars and buses, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, EV purchase tax credits, sidewalks/bike lanes, and regional rail. I strongly support and urge Virginia to move forward with and join the TCI as well as require that the revenue generated by the program be used to expand clean transportation. There are simply too many cars on the road contributing to our warming climate and adding to air pollution related health problems including asthma rates.

Transportation is responsible for nearly half (46 percent) of Virginia's greenhouse gas emissions. If Virginians want to do our part to slow climate change, we definitely need to tackle transportation emissions. In many ways, transportation presents one of the greatest obstacles to tackling climate change, as well as one of the biggest opportunities to address some of Virginia’s challenges.

TCI takes a regional approach. Virginia’s transportation systems are intimately connected to Washington, D.C., Maryland and the entire region, so a real solution to transportation challenges must be regional as well. Additionally, as a coastal state Virginia is already experiencing the impact of climate change more than most—and scientists have made it clear that we must dramatically scale up efforts to reduce GHG emissions if we are to mitigate the worst impacts of a warming world.

We must act now to implement thoughtful and collaborative solutions like TCI that will help address the climate challenge while also driving investments in a clean transportation future. Virginia’s state leaders need to join with our neighbors and build a clean and efficient transportation system that we can all benefit from.

Virginia Conservation Network is the partnership of 125 groups across the Commonwealth working to protect our natural resources. We have a 50 year history of working for state level policy changes to protect and restore our air, water, and natural landscapes.

Climate change is the biggest environmental threat we face here in Virginia and across the globe. All levels of government must step up to address this threat by putting policies in place that reduce carbon emissions. Virginia is on a path to joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to ratchet down our carbon pollution from electricity generation with a statewide goal of getting to a carbon free power grid by 2050. However, the utility sector is only on fifth of our greenhouse gas emissions, forty-six percent of our state’s carbon pollution derives from the transportation sector. It is time for Virginia, our neighboring states, and the nation to tackle this source of pollution.

VCN is excited about the solutions the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) could offer our Commonwealth. TCI would not only put in place a system to reduce carbon pollution from transportation, the resulting revenue streams from TCI could allow us to expand our transit networks and transition our vehicle fleets—from police cruisers to school buses—to all-electric. The potential for revenues to be invested in cleaner and more accessible transportation solutions in communities that suffer disproportionately from transportation pollution and a lack of mobility options can not be overstated. It is important that while we look towards transportation solutions we look not only to electrification but also to smart land-use including walkable, bikeable communities. We look forward to working with TCI and our neighboring states to tackle this problem from all angles.

There are many co-benefits to cleaning up our transportation system; however, the benefits for public health would prove especially significant. Virginia’s rate of asthma and related deaths is well above the national average. Richmond in particular has more deaths linked to asthma than any other U.S. city, and childhood asthma is a top reason that Richmond children miss school. Cleaner vehicles would mean cleaner air for our kids to breathe.

We are excited to support this endeavor to simultaneously tackle the climate crisis, enhance our region's mobility and make a significant shift towards cleaner, healthier communities.