TRANSFORMING TRANSPORTATION YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE: Puzzling out the future of transportation in New England.

AuthorKwoka, Bethany

When my partner and I moved to Vermont last year, we knew we couldn't make it work without a car. Apartments near Montpelier, a city of fewer than 8,000 people, get rural fast. Factor in snowy winters, limited public transit, and no sidewalks or streetlights mere blocks from downtown, and we knew a car was essential for our life outside of Boston.

Owning a car is a fact of existence for many of us living in New England. Especially in the northern states and outside of major cities, you need a car to get to school and work, run errands, go to appointments, and see friends.

But working at CLF has changed how I think about transportation. It's not just about having a car or taking the bus. It's a complicated puzzle made up of 1,000 tiny pieces --and the impacts of how we get around touch everything from local health to global climate change. What's more, the burdens of those harms affect some communities more than others, and even basic access to transportation is not a given for too many New Englanders.

I've now lived in Providence, Boston, and Montpelier--three state capitals with very different transportation systems and needs. One factor unites them all: the need to transform those systems.

That overhaul is coming--by necessity. Over 40% of New England's climate-damaging emissions billow from the exhaust pipes of our cars, trucks, semis, buses, and trains. We cannot solve climate change without cutting that pollution. And in the process, we have a unique opportunity to reimagine our region's transportation systems as ones that are both affordable and accessible to everyone.

Nine Years to Clean Transportation

"By 2030, we want New England's transportation systems to be clean," says Emily Green, a senior attorney at CLF. "That means not emitting air pollution or climate-harming carbon pollution."

For years, Green has focused on slashing these emissions by swapping out gas guzzlers for electric cars, trucks, and buses. That includes ensuring that New England states set and meet ambitious targets for getting electric vehicles on the road, and that our electricity grid is ready to power them with clean, renewable energy. It's a winning proposition, since electric vehicles can slash both carbon emissions and toxic air pollution. That will improve public health while also saving people and businesses money on gas and maintenance.

So, how do we get there by 2030?

One piece of the puzzle involves making it easier--and financially attractive--for people to purchase an electric car, including those who wouldn't buy one otherwise. That means state governments expanding rebates and incentives on both new and used vehicles.

Another critical puzzle piece? Infrastructure to support electric vehicles. Between Providence and Boston, only one of the places I lived had a driveway. It was a...

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