Many Vermonters who live rurally must rely on a vehicle to get to work, school, the grocery store, and other daily necessities. Helping all Vermonters get into cleaner, more efficient and less costly electric vehicles is a critical climate and economic issue. 

VNRC is a strong proponent of electric vehicles. They are significantly cheaper to run, cost less to maintain, and have environmental and public health benefits, including having no tailpipe emissions. And, as the costs for fossil fuels continue to skyrocket, the economic benefits are powerful, with EV drivers getting many more miles for their dollar. According to the Energy Action Network in 2025, a dollar spent on fuel for an average gasoline car will only propel the vehicle 7 miles, while a dollar spent on electricity for an EV moves the car 2–3 times farther. Combined with maintenance savings, the lower fuel costs of EVs typically result in $6,000–$10,000 lower lifetime costs as compared to gas vehicles, even without any EV purchase incentives.

Put simply: EVs are cheaper, cleaner, better and, in rural Vermont, a critical climate strategy.   

VNRC supports accelerating adoption of electric vehicles and other electric mobility options by:

• Reinstating state incentives for electric vehicles and bikes, particularly for low- and moderate-income Vermonters; 
• Ensuring state policies prioritize – not penalize – EV adoption, including by ensuring state programs, including a soon-to-be-adopted Mileage Based User Fee, don’t have the dirtiest, least efficient vehicles on the road paying less than their cleaner counterparts.
• Supporting policy and regulatory approaches that incentivize the market – and consumers – to drive cleaner, less costly vehicles, including programs long-standing and successful Zero Emission Vehicle programs like Advanced Clean Cars.
• Identifying and establishing a sustainable funding source that will support the transition to electric vehicles – as the world moves to mass adoption – such as a cap-and-invest policy that could raise revenues to fund incentive programs and mitigate upward costs to low- and moderate-income Vermonters.

Resources:

• Find out far more about the role electric vehicles play in Vermont’s efforts to reduce health-harming climate pollution and save Vermonters money by checking out the Energy Action Network’s annual progress report on Energy, Affordability and Emissions.
• Check out Drive Electric Vermont for all things EV in Vermont, including news, tips and rebate and incentive information. 
• Calculate how much you can save by transitioning to an EV for your driving needs by crunching your personal numbers at Coltura’s EV Savings Calculator.
• Find out more about the importance of reducing transportation related pollution – as well as the policies and strategies to help cut costs and carbon – in the 2025 Climate Action Plan.

Find out more about VNRC’s work to help Vermonters reduce their energy bills and cut costly, planet-warming pollution via our Clean Energy and Climate program page.

Strong public transit systems are foundational infrastructure that help reduce climate and environmental pollution, decrease traffic congestion, lower household transportation costs, and give Vermonters more choices for how they travel. Reliable transit is also a key building block for sustainable communities, as coordinating transit with development reduces sprawl, lowers energy consumption, and connects residents to jobs, services, and daily needs – enabling communities to become more interconnected, cleaner, and better prepared for future growth. 

However, our public transit system is facing cuts and lack of investment, leaving many residents — particularly seniors, people with disabilities, rural residents, and low-income households — with even fewer options to meet basic daily needs. And, as the state works to meet housing needs, by failing to protect transit we are setting ourselves up for a painful transportation bottleneck: more people, more homes, and no viable way to move around without a car.

VNRC supports strengthening Vermont’s public transit system by: 

• Identifying and establishing new, sustainable, short and long term revenue sources for Vermont’s transit providers; 
• Continuing to flex federal funds for transit;  
• Encouraging transit-oriented development; 
• Supporting micro-transit, carsharing, and other “Vermont-sized” modes of transit;
• Setting statewide targets for reducing vehicle miles traveled. 

In the short term, we must prevent further cuts by investing modest additional funding. In the long term, Vermont must commit to sustainable, reliable funding so that transit is no longer treated as an afterthought. 

Resources:

• Transportation Funding in Vermont: The Challenge and the Opportunity
• 2025 Vermont Transportation Funding Study 
• AARP’s Transit Funding Fact Sheets 
• VPTA 2024 Transit Funding Study 
• Community Planning Toolbox: Transit-Oriented Development 

Find out more about VNRC’s work to help Vermonters reduce their dependence on personal vehicles through transit via our Sustainable Communities program page.

VNRC is committed to promoting vibrant, connected community centers by guiding growth in and around our downtowns and village centers – reducing the need to drive by creating shorter distances between homes, jobs, and amenities, and facilitating needed investments in Complete Streets and safe infrastructure for walking, biking, and public transit. Complete Streets is an approach to designing, building and maintaining streets that enable safer, more accessible transportation networks for people of all ages and abilities. 

Planning for safe streets alongside new housing is critical to reducing traffic congestion, lowering climate emissions and household costs, and increasing mobility options for those who cannot or choose not to drive. 

In many parts of the state, gaps in sidewalks, bike infrastructure, trail connections, and safe road crossings discourage walking, biking and rolling, and limit access to jobs, schools, services, recreation and downtowns. Much of this work is managed and implemented by Vermont’s municipalities, but without sustained investment and coordinated land use and transportation planning, Vermonters will continue to be forced into vehicles – or on the dangerous shoulders of roads.

VNRC supports Complete Streets and active transportation by:

• Protecting and increasing state funding for street safety and walk/bike infrastructure; 
• Strengthening Vermont’s Complete Streets policy and supporting educational outreach; 
• Providing greater flexibility for municipalities to make local decisions on safe street design and speed limits; 
• Modernizing Vermont’s roadway design guidance to better incorporate context-sensitivity and Complete Streets;
• Providing funding and technical assistance to municipalities seeking to integrate active transportation into capital planning, municipal plans, and land use regulations;
• Setting statewide targets for reducing vehicle miles traveled;
• Incorporating performance metrics of roads beyond vehicle speed.

Resources:

• Find or Start a Local Walk/Bike Group
• Complete Streets: A Guide for Vermont Communities  
• Community Planning Toolbox: Complete Streets 
• Community Planning Toolbox: Transportation & Energy

Find out more about VNRC’s work to help Vermonters reduce their dependence on personal vehicles through safe streets and connected communities via our Sustainable Communities program page.