TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Dear Gov. Baker, Board, and to Everyone,
I am thrilled that you are taking steps to reduce climate change! The transportation sector plays a large role in CO2 emissions and greening it up, will be excellent for the state of Massachusetts. However, I want to encourage you to do more. While the national discourse sees climate change as an issue I see it as an opportunity. We have the opportunity to develop the state by investing in new technologies and ensuring all people can be employed and productive for years to come.
Massachusetts has always been at the forefront of innovation and we have great research institutions and initiative. I want your climate plan to be bolder, take larger steps to tackling this, because if we do, the dividends will be huge. Think: if we encourage green energy across the grid, we can develop solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and other new technology that will be more efficient, have better storage than what is seen before. This will be implemented all across MA. It will be state born and bred, and sought out by other states or even other countries! The business ventures will be huge; oil supplies are running out and are becoming riskier to get, and this will ensure long-term growth. This growth should then be used to employ people from all sectors in MA: from engineers to design, electricians and builders to install, and marketers to show everyone how great all of this exciting innovation is.
As an engineering student, I have been told, and firmly believe, that bold innovation is what moves everything forward. Think of the industrial revolution, or even the invention of the internet. So I challenge you, Baker, to take this opportunity and allow Massachusetts to innovate its future, sustainably.

40% of green-house gases now come from the transportation sector. We must get control of this by cooperative efforts, especially
multi-state plans, such as TCI.

Renewal is vital. Without it we are looking more ad more like a banana republic. It's not just clean transportation, it is efficient, modern transportation we want. If other first world cities can have this, why can't we? I just rode a brand new subway installation in Lyon. All electric.

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
- Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

I urge you to do everything within your power to participate in TCI's initiative to design a low-carbon transportation policy for the northeast that will truly have substantial impact on managing the temperature of our warming Earth. I urge you, as well, to do everything in your power to make Massachusetts a model for such policy-making and implementation, working towards putting into practice at least what the joint transportation policy suggests and going better in any ways that are necessary and possible. It is our responsibility to leave the world in habitable shape for our children and grandchildren and beyond. Thank you.

I could cry that 40 years ago we had bipartisan desire to do something on the climate, until the fossil fuel industry threw money at disinformation. There can be no bigger crime. Why are they not in jail?

The initiative should be implemented on a multi-state basis while emphasizing principles of justice and funding for a decarbonized transit future. As such, any money raised through fees or taxes should be rebated directly to working class members or used to implement free public transit system repairs, electric car fuel infrastructure, new transit system implementation and subsidies for purchasing electric cars.

The funding could also help transition the operation of refining facilities and renewable generation as well as investment in public or common ownership of sustainable products and high-tech innovation. Alongside sustainable infrastructure development and building retrofits, we should be developing a low-carbon economy that features social care, high-speed public or social broadband, and remote-work initiatives.

At the heart of the project has to be an understanding that taxes or fees are not only inefficient means of driving innovation and development but can harm some of the most vulnerable. As such, we should move forward while acknowledging the reality of inequality and oligarchy control that have sparked riots and collective action in response to fossil fuel price and subsidy rises from Ecuador to France.

Following the release on October 1 of the Framework for a Draft Regional Policy Proposal, and ahead of the release of a multi-state draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance the policy design process, our coalition of vehicle manufacturers, fuel providers, and industry groups wishes to express our support for the development and implementation of a coordinated regional cap-and-invest program to hasten an equitable transition toward a cleaner transportation economy and healthier communities throughout the region. Please find our full comments on the Framework attached.

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.