Electric vehicles, while sustainable, often come at a steep cost to consumers. Image credit here
The state of Vermont has a total of 9 cities, only 3 of which have a population over 10,000. The largest of which is Burlington with 44,781 people. Despite being the most populated city in Vermont, it only makes up roughly 6.9% of the total state population. Outside of few densely populated areas, the overwhelming majority of Vermont consists of sparsely populated towns, many of which are also experiencing a decline in population. Many of these underpopulated areas have experienced a lack of investment towards transportation infrastructure. This has led to difficulties accessing public transportation services for many residents. Currently, the regional bus services follow a specific set of routes that currently fail to meet the needs of many rural populations.
The absence of an accessible public transportation system throughout many rural parts of Vermont has also led to a reliance on the use of personal vehicles for travel (gasoline powered). In fact, 45% of the total statewide GHG emissions are from the transportation sector. Additionally, 70% of all the money we spend on fossil fuels leaves the state’s economy each year, whereas over 50% of every dollar spent on electricity will recirculate in Vermont’s economy. This emphasizes the importance of switching away from gas and transitioning to clean alternatives. By investing in renewable energy, not only the economy will greatly benefit, but we also accelerate the process of meeting the state’s allotted energy goals. The goal is to transition away from fossil fuel consumption and switch towards clean energy alternatives, through the widespread implementation of electric vehicles.
The obstacle for many people is being able to afford an electric vehicle in the first place. (There are many programs that offer financial incentives that can be used towards the purchase of a used or new EV) one of which is called “Replace your Ride (link to previous article for more details about the program). At the bare minimum, changes must be made to the current state of the public transportation system. By implementing a redesigned statewide public transportation system throughout the entire state, we will see a reduction in total miles traveled (reduction in emissions).
