TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I support this transportation initiative generally, but I don't think that the goal of making more walkable or bikeable routes, is realistic, or at least not comprehensive enough. Focus needs to go into making electric cars affordable and desirable, and adding many electric car charging stations, which would be powered not by fossil fuels, but by renewable energy sources. Thank you.

I am writing in support of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). I urge Pennsylvania state government to do everything in our power to reduce emissions, invest in a clean transportation system, and reduce the impact of climate change as much as we still can.

Thank you

TCI is a great idea, and a great start towards getting us to carbon neutrality in the next 20 years. This is so important. Be courageous, and unstintingly generous in your thinking about the generations to come - give them a chance! Help the TCI get put into law!

To Quote Greta Thunberg: "Our planet is on fire!!" Pollution from transportation is our largest source of global warming emissions (regionally and nationally). We request that Maryland formally join the plan to reduce emissions.The plan should include a strong component of equity by prioritizing clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don't have access.

I appreciate the bipartisan nature of this project, moving us forward while the federal government takes us backward.

Vermont’s Participation in the Transportation and Climate Initiative Has the Potential to Improve Equity While Protecting the Planet

Coming off of the recent decision to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act, Vermont has the opportunity to further its environmental commitment by supporting the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), a regional effort to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and improve sustainable transportation. The state must be a part of this undertaking, for the good of both the planet and its residents.
I chose to attend college in Vermont, over 3,000 miles from my home, because of the environment. I was not only drawn to the incredible natural beauty of the state, but also to the Environmental Studies program and Middlebury College. In my third year in the major, I’m spending a semester in an Engaged Community Practicum, thinking critically about public transit in the age of climate crisis. This perspective and sustained engagement with local stakeholders inform my understanding of the TCI, as does my childhood in an urban area where I depended on a (deeply flawed) public transit system.
The beauty of the TCI is that it takes the theories behind environmental justice and puts them into practice. The initiative holds the potential to provide incredible benefits to those who need them the most. The goal is to use a cap to reduce vehicle emissions (specifically on-road diesel and finished motor gasoline) and then invest the proceeds in measures to further reduce emissions and improve the quality and resilience of transportation. By targeting transportation, which contributes 43% of CO2 emissions in the TCI region, the program will combat climate change, which disproportionately impacts poor and marginalized groups.
The Draft Memorandum of Understanding for Stakeholder Input (MOU) highlights the program’s equity implications, pointing to increased accessibility and mobility as one key example. However, it must be acknowledged that the MOU is merely a sketch of what needs to become a much more robust plan. How exactly this outline is fleshed out has critical implications. When it comes to thinking about equity and the TCI, we must consider two dimensions: participation in process and distributive justice. Addressing these elements will alleviate most concerns about the TCI, but this has yet to be done sufficiently.
The Investments and Equity section of the MOU highlights the importance of thoughtful investment, of allowance proceeds, and of prioritizing transportation improvements for underserved communities. Significant concerns have been put forth about the potential for regressive effects of the TCI, and the writers of the MOU are right that proper investment can ensure that costs do not fall disproportionately on vulnerable groups. This is the case because Vermont’s low-income and aging populations share similar transportation obstacles, such as less access to personal vehicles. Therefore, investment in improved public transit options and pedestrian and cyclist safety will present benefits. Policy makers must make clear to the public exactly how they will invest proceeds in order to ensure that this program is progressive rather than regressive. In particular, this should include less emphasis on electric vehicles, which under the current investment scenario receive the largest share (30%). Rather than promoting infrastructures and ideologies centered around reliance on personal vehicles, the TCI must be more ambitious in investing in public transit. This is especially important considering the uncertainty around electric vehicle technology in rural, rugged landscapes.
It also must be clarified that distributional equity does not mean that benefits and burdens are evenly distributed across a population, but that those with the most constraints receive the most support. Furthermore, moving forward, policymakers must also demonstrate understanding of another core tenant of transportation equity, which is ensuring meaningful public involvement in the planning process.
Another key element regarding equity will be participation in the process. Policymakers must prioritize sustained public outreach to diverse demographics, and break down documents like the MOU in plain language to improve accessibility. Additionally, public transit programs and investments must be need-based, not demand-based. This may seem like semantics but the distinction means prioritizing justice and working towards accessibility by overcoming isolation.
Climate change demands rapid and expansive action to reduce emissions and adapt to exacerbated vulnerabilities. The scale of the TCI promises to do just that, harnessing technological and political tools already easily available. However, policymakers must sustain and expand upon their commitment to equity, proving to Vermonters and other residents in the region that the program will help rural, poor, and underserved communities.

In short, we must realize our future (our children's future and future generations from now) on this earth depends how we caretake the fortunes (natural resources) that we have, and we need to courageously need to work to that end. We can see, along with the input from scientists, that there is no greater and crucial time than now to be the responsible caretakers we need to be. Let's do this. Go TCI!

It's a nice idea but I feel it will be a negative impact on some pumps as some pumps relay on gas sales to make money and profits.

Please do whatever is in your power to help us & future generations breathe easier & be healthy.
Thank you!

My family has only one car (a hybrid) and uses it relatively infrequently as we can walk, bike or bus most places in town. We would get rid of our vehicle altogether if it were possible to get bus or train service to various places in roughly 5 hrs driving distance (Portland, ME or Western Mass, for example). Currently our only public transit options depart Burlington at 3am (Greyhound) or 4pm (Megabus), both of which are disruptive to travel plans with small children. Our inability to get to and from other cities within Vermont (except by the commuter buses, which run so infrequently that they are not useful for errand running or partial day outings) is another factor. I would love to see the region develop a more robust public transit system between towns, preferably at hours that are convenient not just for those working a 9-5 job, but to accomodate tourists and traveling families.