TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

This is an absolute asinine proposal! The people in rural areas will be decimated by this tax increase due to the remoteness of their towns. This will impact every tax bracket of people and hurt the lowest earners the most. People can't afford to spend the money to buy electric vehicles and chargers(even though the electric is mostly sourced from fossil fuels and aren't better for the environment).

As a lifelong resident of the Northeast Corridor (Maine-DC), I cannot state more strongly the need for improved public transportation options. Driving from Charlottesville (when I was in college) to New York sometimes took up to 8 hours due to traffic. I now live in the DC area and would prefer to take the train home to visit family, but it is cost prohibitive in comparison to driving. It's ridiculous that the better environmental choice is more expensive monetarily. All of us in the Northeast Corridor (as well as the rest of the country) deserve better options.

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.

I have better things to do with my life than sit in traffic and breathe fumes. Air pollution causes thousands and thousands of deaths in our country every year. Yet people want to continue to drive their fossil fuel vehicles and pollute the air our children breathe? Look outside the boundaries of America and see what other countries are doing about the traffic crisis. America is WAY behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to public transportation. We have ridden high speed rail in the UK. and Germany. Get on a train in the U.S. and you feel like you are back in the 1800's. It is embarrassing and frustrating. Making America great again means making it less dependent on fossil fuels and having a healthier environment for our citizens.

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.

The one thing Maine does NOT need is another tax and higher gas prices. We are a pretty low income state with a lot of rural areas. People have to drive father to get anywhere for work shopping. Cannot afford higher gas prices gas and Diesel should be going down not up !! this will be a perfect way to keep businesses out of Maine and kill a tourist industry. Way to go Give. Mills keep destroying our State

I live in a region that consistently suffers from bad air quality. I see the health effects of this daily--especially among those who grew up in this region (i.e. asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive impairment, etc.). Please do all that you can to significantly reduce and limit air pollution. Thank you.

I feel that by increasing the cost of fuel would have a negative affect on customers and vendors as the additional cost would have to be passed on to the end user.