TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Too many of our public buses and trains run on dirty energy and contribute to air pollution and climate change. Many trains, buses, and stations haven’t been retrofitted in decades. For many people in rural parts of our states, there are zero viable public transportation options, which forces them to drive.

By making polluters pay and creating a dedicated source of funding through TCI, we’ll finally be able to move our state to a 21st-century regional transportation system that is cleaner, more reliable, more accessible, and more affordable. We’ll see less traffic, thousands of new jobs, and less dangerous air pollution. All communities — whether urban, suburban, or rural — will benefit.

It is time to pay attention to the needs of people and transportation, and not only improve travel by train and electric bus, but to
pay attention to the Climate in realizing those considerations.

Investment, legislation, and State and local regulation under the Initiative should support infrastructure for private and corporate electric vehicles - cars and trucks - including tax breaks for statewide (rural as well as urban) e-vehicle charging stations and dedicated transmission lines. Such transmission systems should also support local and regional public transportation systems - busses and trains- to facilitate public public acceptance. Laws must permit homeowners to void pre-existing covenants and other private restrictions on installation of rooftop solar panels as well as require remuneration to homeowners by regional electric power companies who receive power from household solar or wind power generation entering the grid. This is a start. I could continue. But so can others.

Dear Governor Wolf,
My husband and I are thrilled that you're considering joining 11 other states to form a regional initiative, the Transportation and Climate Initiative. The truth is, we don't have that much time before climate change overtakes us. The oil and gas emissions are not only building up rapidly in our sky but also in our lungs. Reducing pollution from all motor vehicles, including the whole range of trucks, is one of the best ways to reduce Pennsylvania's and the Northeast's pollution. Our bus system here in State College uses propane, which is a gas, but I don't smell or see any emissions. That doesn't mean there are none. We have no time to lose. Please make TCI a priority and work as quickly as possible to reduce the impact of carbon pollution.
P.S. Any idea or plans for banning "Fracking" altogether?
Sincerely,
Wendy

I agree with “…design a regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels through a cap-and-invest program or other pricing mechanism… [and]… to complete the policy development process within one year, after which each jurisdiction will decide whether to adopt and implement the policy.”

Reducing pollution from transportation is a step in the right direction for minimizing climate change.

I’d like to submit a comment in support of the Transportation & Climate Initiative.
First, reducing pollution from transportation is a key component to reducing Pennsylvania's emissions. There are numerous benefits to Pennsylvania and the entire Northeastern United States in cutting emissions and the subsequent formation of toxic greenhouse gases; public transit investments that could be made with TCI proceeds would be valuable and could be reinvested to develop further climate saving, greenhouse gas reducing programs throughout the region, protecting our children and the elderly from the choking greenhouse gases that have been linked to increased rates of respiratory disease, have been shown to affect the birth weight and overall fetal health in our region and darken skies with clouds of smog that are brimming full of dangerous chemicals that collect on our skin, in our hair, contaminate our fresh water supply and adversely affect the health of livestock grown for human consumption in the region.
I ask, that as the leaders responsible for effecting change, you choose the aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target that the most recent climate science tells us we need. I also urge you to adopt policy that prioritizes clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don’t have access to transportation choices.
The time to act is now! I’d like to point out that change has been a long time in coming, and it takes progressive, forward-thinking policy makers that agree with the urgency of the situation and are bold enough to perhaps step outside of their comfort zones in order to make meaningful change possible.

As a resident of Philadelphia for over 35 years I have lived in a bus route where Diesel engines were idled, equipment for construction equipment unloaded in our block, and for over twenty years forced to travel by car along major roads as there was no connection between my job and my home. My lungs are definitely the worse for wear. My home and neighborhood is noisy, and traffic problems grow worse as population increases.
All this seems damaging and certainly adding to the destruction of our planet and our civilization.

Please support the TCI. It is a critically important time to protect humans and other plants and animals from the adverse impacts of climate change. Carbon emissions from transportation are among the leading causes of climate change, and a shift to reduce carbon emissions now would be a valuable step.