TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I am doing everything I can as an individual to reduce my carbon emissions. I bought an electric-only car. I would like my state to make the same commitment and minimize mass transportation emissions. This is a climate emergency! Big investments and changes are required, by everyone!

Preventing (or at least limiting) climate change is critical. Transportation is responsible for a lot of pollution that threatens to make climate change worse, It is thus critical that we put a focus on these two related areas.

I am a retiree who relocated to beautiful Kittery Maine in 2016. My wife Jane and I have been climate activists since about 2014 and we need to take action now to this global crisis. Our grand kids will not survive in the world that they will inherit from us.
I applaud Governor Mills for participating in the regional design process. This policy design should reflect the best and latest available science on climate emissions from transportation. This policy should include a strong component of equity that ensures that low-income, rural, or aging populations are not hurt by this program.

One of my key ideas in addition to having municipal, public school and all State agencies convert to electric or hybrid electric vehicles as fast as possible follows.

Based on a recently completed inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in the Town of York Maine the Town's largest source of Green House Gas Emissions (GHG) is on-road transportation at 44%, the next closest category is Heating Fuel at 30%. To respond to the on-road transportation category that includes emissions largely from interstate 95 I would propose a “renewable energy fee” to be levied at the York Toll Plaza that would be used to provide financial assistance to the Town of York residents, commercial businesses and municipal facilities in converting from fossil fuel sourced heat and electricity to renewable sources like solar and wind.

2. I would suggest a starting fee of $5 per vehicle to begin. Such a fee will not stop tourists from driving up through York on I95 and through the Exit 7 toll plaza – they would still come. This system could be made “smart” with an electronic tolling system that would read a vehicles license plate, then interface with the USA vehicle registration system for every state and the fee could be graduated to have a higher fee for the largest polluters (greenhouse gas) such as SUVs, pick-up trucks. With this interface, Maine residents could possibly be excluded from this fee. It could be smarter by including an interface with EPA miles per gallon data by vehicle year and type so as to charge a higher fee on the largest polluters such as SUVs and pick-up trucks. For example I will use my own vehicle, a 2013 Nissan Altima 4 door sedan with a 4 cylinder engine, average miles per gallon (mpg) 29, Fee $3, as compared to a 2015 Toyota Tundra V-8 average miles per gallon 15 mpg, Fee $8. Electric Vehicles would be charged $0.0. I do not know if a data interface such as this can be enabled but research could provide the answer.

3. Maine turnpike authority traffic volume at Exit 7 toll plaza was reported at 931,079* vehicles in 2017 [see footnote * below from the MTA web site report] (see: http://www.maineturnpike.com/About-MTA/Traffic-Statistics/Traffic-by-Interchange.aspx ) – a $5 per vehicle fee would generate $4,655,395 in one year - $4.7 million dollars! How many York residential, commercial, etc. solar systems could be installed? Etc. etc. This fee could also be levied on commercial vehicles as well such as tractor trailer rigs, etc. EV tractor trailer and truck vehicles are currently under development so….

NOTE: The definition for the “traffic by interchange” as reported at the MTA web site would need to be clarified – I am not sure if this count is what we need to determine the total fee dollars.

• Data is represented as total number of trips averaged daily along the Turnpike. This is different than a count by transactions.

. This renewable energy fee could be also applied at every toll plaza along I95 in the States of Maine and NH. New cashless toll plazas to collect these fees could be installed on all the major interstate routes in Maine and NH. Cashless toll plazas have been implemented in other US locations, why not here?

4. Observation: Conversion to Electric Vehicles will continue to be very, very, very slow – climate change is not waiting for this conversion.

Communities of color breathe air that is 66% more polluted from tailpipe emissions than white communities in the Northeast & Mid-Atlantic region.

We need a regional transportation system that has a substantial infrastructure for electric vehicle recharging and high speed rail and light rail commuter lines to reduce traffic congestion and combat pollution from transportation which is large contributer to global climate change. We desperately need clean and renewable energy investment and incentives. Thank you for the effort to make a regional effort to combat climate change

The whole concept of TCI is simply another tax implemented to fund excessive and irresponsible government spending. We do not need nor can we excuse the terrible waste in government already. Most people living on fixed incomes are already hurting from outrageous healthcare costs, increasing food prices, living costs and taxes. To add any gas tax will increase the cost of all goods delivered by truck, rail and air. This would be irresponsible on all accounts. Furthermore, there is no proof of a climate change threat. Indeed, just the opposite based on historical data. This is just another Tax and Spend initiative that will again hurt Maine citizens. May God save us from politicians influenced by lobbyists and their money. This reminds me of the reasons why we are subsidizing wind power. Ridiculous.

I along with many other stakeholders and voters in the state of Maine would like to see a shift from highways and gasoline to clean modern electrified rail transit. This is the most efficient form of transportation and least polluting. When coupled with green power from Wind, and Solar, electrified rail can be 100% clean and carbon free. We have all the infrastructure in place in Maine to connect all our major cities and also through to other states and countries. We have wasted year spending huge amounts of our money on car and trucks and pavement and highways. We need to put in immediate moratorium on all highway expansion projects like the Gorham connector and Sanford connector and Turnpike expansion. All revenue generated by the tolls on the Maine Turnpike should be sent to the Norther New England Passenger Rail Authority, for expansed service to Rockland (immediately), and also to Lewiston/Auburn expansion via the St Lawrence Atlantic (state owned line) to the gateway terminal in Portland. We should also expand passenger services up to Augusta, Waterville, and Bangor. Longer terms expansion should be the reconnection of services on the Mt Division RR to northern New Hampshire. Passenger service from Lewiston to Quebec Via , Oxford, Norway and Bethel and the White Mts. Other expansions should include restoration of all current freight lines throughout the state. Charge tractor trailer trucks entering our state to pay very high tolls $100 per truck and put that money into freight service restoration. Reduce airport expansion in Maine instead put those millions into passenger rail service. Invest in electrified rail service with modern fast passenger unit that have 20+ trips per day between services. Stop building more and more parking garages in place like Portland. Charge a per car fee to enter the city. Use that money for rail. Raise the Gasoline tax by $1.00 per gallon and put that into Rail with local connecting bus service. Consider return of street car services on some areas, other areas use electric buses. Stop wasting huge amounts of tax payers money on Autonomous car technology. Driving 4000 lbs of metal on a asphalt roadway is not the future.