Rural Communities and the Transportation and Climate Initiative

The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) is a regional program designed to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector by limiting total emissions and requiring fuel distributors to pay into a fund. This fund could generate an estimated $68 billion over ten years for participating states, including Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. The document highlights that rural residents, who drive more than 13,000 miles annually—over 20% above the regional average—stand to save up to twice as much per capita as urban residents by switching to electric vehicles (EVs). To support this transition, the author suggests higher purchase incentives for low- and moderate-income drivers, expanded rural charging infrastructure, and the growth of vanpools and paratransit services. Additionally, the document emphasizes the need for climate-resilient infrastructure, citing the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene in Vermont as a precedent for the increasing intensity of storms in the region.

• The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) aims to lower carbon emissions by capping total emissions from cars and trucks and charging regional fuel distributors based on gasoline and diesel sales, potentially generating $68 billion in investments over its first 10 years.
• Rural drivers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region drive more than 13,000 miles per year, which is over 20 percent higher than the regional average, making the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) particularly financially beneficial for them.
• Despite the benefits, rural residents face specific barriers to EV adoption, including a higher need for pickup trucks, concerns regarding cold weather performance, and lower median household incomes compared to urban areas.
• TCI funds could be used to expand rural transportation options beyond personal vehicles, including the electrification of public transit, the creation of vanpools for workers, the scaling of paratransit for the elderly and disabled, and the improvement of broadband to reduce the need for physical travel.
• Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme rainfall in the Eastern United States, which has already seen a 50 percent increase in such events since the mid-20th century, necessitating investments in resilient rural roads and bridges.
• The impact of extreme weather on rural infrastructure was exemplified by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, which damaged over 2,000 road sections and nearly 300 bridges in Vermont alone.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2020). Rural Communities and the Transportation and Climate Initiative. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/rural-communities-and-the-transportation-and-climate-initiative_0.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Rural Communities and the Transportation and Climate Initiative. 2020. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/rural-communities-and-the-transportation-and-climate-initiative_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Rural Communities and the Transportation and Climate Initiative |date=October 2020 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/rural-communities-and-the-transportation-and-climate-initiative_0.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2020rural, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Rural Communities and the Transportation and Climate Initiative}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/rural-communities-and-the-transportation-and-climate-initiative_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }