TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Climate change is one of the greatest problems of our times. Providing efficient tranportation can greatly reduce emissions that harm the environment. This plan is a step in the right direction.

Please see the attached comment sent on behalf of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA).

I would like my children (and all children!) to be able to learn, and play, and grow in areas free from noxious emissions from idling school buses, cars, and other forms of transportation.

Truthfully, I have no idea where you have gotten this idea from, or what you are thinking.
While many of the public transit "solutions" and feel-good methods you propose might make sense in a densely packed urban area like DC, Massachusetts, ect, in Maine they are terrible ideas, as Maine is largely rural. In fact, with Maine being 89% wooded, the most wooded state on the East coast, I think that these methods are unnecessary. Rural Maine depends on individual vehicles for transportation, and ANOTHER tax on top of what people are already paying will seek to negatively effect an already fragile economy, and burden and ALREADY overtaxed people. Unless over taxation and thus making Maine more difficult to live in is the real goal.
There are many things we all can do to REALLY make the world a better place and our environment leaner and NONE of them involve additional taxation or giving the government more power.
NO new gas tax. NO other taxes either. Clean up your OWN yard before you complain about that of your neighbors.

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.

First of all,we need to approach the problem on all fronts,with every means,realizing that there will not be one perfect solution,but doing nothing is definitely not the solution.We also need a target.The target should be no investment in anything that makes the problem worse,but also think about how to take carbon out of the atmosphere most efficiently.One of the means is to price carbon,and to do that we can do some thought experiments.If the goal is to change people's behavior how much should that price be?Should it be $5 per ton,increasing $1 per year?Obviously not,since such a insignificant increase would change nothing.Why would you even bother?This would be greenwashing.If this is to be a regional approach I would advocate for increasing that by a factor of 10.Thus it would start at $50 per ton,and increase $10 per year.Would this put our region at a disadvantage?Not if the entire region,in all of its public unions,colleges,etc divested from fossil fuels,and pledged to be fossil fuel free in terms of cars and trucks by 2025.that is,no registration of new fossil fueled cars and trucks by 2025.Meanwhile,one would need to return this money in a progressive fashion-the lowest quintile to receive 175% of the dividend,next lowest 150%,middle 125%,next higher 35%,highest possibly15%.Not as a dividend,but as a green debit card,so that the money could only be spent on green options-e.g.,mass transit,bikes,electric cars,solar panels,mini-split heaters,etc.Meanwhile,all of the attorney generals should proceed with their cases against Exxon Mobil etc.Meanwhile,copy California making solar requisite on all new homes by 2020.Fund immediate rebates for lower income folks purchasing ev cars,again copying California.Make it a rule that by 2020 no municipality buys another school bus that is not electric.No town vehicle that is not either electric or something like a Workhorse truck.JFK in ? 1961 pledged to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade,when our rockets were blowing up on the launchpad.He did not have the technology then.We have all the technology to do this now.We just choose to spend on money propping up the polluting fossil fuel industries that will ultimately go bankrupt and pay nothing to mitigate the disasters they are causing not in the future,but now.I am tired of both parties doing squat.Fix the problem.It's not landing on the moon.

I care about reducing pollution from transportation because it contributes to climate change.
Thank you Governor Baker for your leadership. I request that Massachusetts formally join the program.
I ask that the leadership chooses the most aggressive greenhouse gas reduction target that the most recent climate science tells us we need.
I urge that the policy prioritizes clean investments in areas overburdened by pollution and/or for those who don’t have access to transportation choices.

TCI are you KIDDING?! I will drive to NH every weekend buy my gas, liquor, household items etc.