There is an urgent need to evaluate and refine Vermont’s clean transportation incentive programs to ensure that they deliver efficient, fair and effective emissions reductions while supporting the state’s economic and fiscal health and residents’ mobility and wellbeing. Transportation accounts for 40% of Vermont’s emissions, and 70% of vehicle travel in Vermont occurs in rural areas. Achieving emissions reductions from transportation in Vermont’s largely rural context is particularly challenging because of the limited transportation options in rural settings and the long distances between where people live and their essential destinations. A critical strategy will be shifting to non-internal combustion engine vehicles, which emit fewer emissions while providing the flexibility and mobility benefits of personal vehicles. As Vermont invests in clean transportation incentive programs to increase their adoption, it is important to ensure that the programs effectively and fairly reduce emissions to ensure the best use of the state’s funds. The emissions benefits of these programs depend on how they change the efficiency and carbon intensity of the fleet as well as how they change how much people drive.
This project will use detailed Vermont vehicle data to evaluate the performance of Vermont’s clean transportation incentive programs. Evaluating each clean transportation incentive program is critical to ensuring that the emissions reductions achieved through these programs are cost effective and fair. Insights from this research will be an invaluable resource for the Vermont Agency of Transportation and the Vermont State Legislature as they continue to invest in and refine clean transportation incentive
programs.