TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

TCI is needed to both improve the transportation infrastructure in Maine and to aid in the necessary transition away from carbon-fueled private transportation. We will need much more low or no carbon mass or public transit to enable Mainers to adapt to a changing ecology. It is tempting for older adults (I am 80) to have only a short term view of the future, but our imagination must take us to fully consider the world our grandchildren and their families will inhabit. An adequate adaptation to climate change must begin now in all phases of our lives.

Transforming our transportation to a clean and efficient system is essential to meeting the climate goals of the next decade and preventing catastrophic climate change, around the world as well as in our own state. Transportation is one of the top source of greenhouse gas emissions, and the TCI will build on the success of RGGI in coordinating the climate leadership in NY and the northeast. Please take this essential leadership role in the fight against climate change for this and future generations, and join the TCI.

The trucking industry is struggling enough as it is. We can't afford another .20 gal tax on fuels because or new Governor is an idiot!

I urge Governor Baker of Massachusetts to join TCI and push it to be as ambitious as possible, for the sake of my children, neighborhood and workplace (vulnerable to sea level rise), and the people and ecosystems that are more vulnerable than me to the impacts of climate change. TCI can help move us beyond fossil fuel for transportation, which will have positive economic impacts.

This needs to stop dead in it's tracks, tax hikes are only going to cripple the working class, and ultimately destroy the economy.

This plan is bad for Maine and does not, in any way, take into account the needs of the People of Maine.

1) Maine is a Rural State with limited Public transportation. This Plan would needlessly punish people for simply going grocery shopping or going to the doctor due to high fuel costs.

2) Maine has a depressed economy. Wages in the State are consistently lower than the other States in this group. This plan would force people to have to spend more of what they make on fuel costs.

3) Most people in Maine cannot the afford Electric Vehicles that this Plan appears to want to force them to purchase.

4) This Plan does not, in any way, take into account that, even if people wanted to purchase an Electric Vehicle, a vehicle that performs the task currently being done by a Petroleum Fueled vehicle does not exist (Tractor, Combine, Dump Truck, etc). Those that need to use these vehicles will be needlessly burdened by artificially inflated fuel costs.

5) The Elderly and Disabled on fixed incomes will be needlessly burdened by artificially inflated fuel costs. Many are currently finding it difficult to pay for needed medication as is. This will only make it even more difficult for them.

In short, The TCI should be opposed as a Bad Idea.

Thank you,

Guy Brandenstein

We need regional transportation systems that are cleaner, more reliable, more accessible, and more affordable. I ask that leaders choose the aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target that the most recent climate science indicates that is needed. Reducing pollution from transportation is a very important component to reducing Pennsylvania's emissions. The policy should prioritize clean investments in areas that are overburdened by pollution and in areas that don’t have access to transportation choices. Reducing carbon emissions can improve the health of our citizens and the environment.