Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is offering free bus service on weekends, he announced Tuesday at an event designed to build support for the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), a regional collaboration of 13 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia.
The aim of both is to improve transportation and reduce carbon emissions.
The TCI, scheduled to be voted upon by the state Environment Committee on Wednesday, promises Connecticut at least a 26% reduction in carbon emissions from transportation from 2022 to 2032. Proponents maintain that it would generate annual revenues of up to $89 million in 2023, increasing to as much as $117 million in 2032.
The governor is also pushing for a highway-use fee for tractor trailers, which would be based on vehicle weight and miles traveled in the state. Its supporters say the fee, which would probably average about $15 per vehicle, would raise $90 million annually for Connecticut”™s Special Transportation Fund. Others maintain that it would clog side streets with drivers seeking to evade the fee.
Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) issued a statement disdaining what he called a “gas tax increase program.”
“The governor’s vision for transportation punishes the middle class,” Kelly said. “A 17-cent gas tax increase and higher prices for goods transported by trucks, like home heating oil and groceries, are not smart policies to bring relief to Connecticut families, nor will they lead to cleaner air in our state.”
Acknowledging Lamont”™s past statements that the fee”™s effects could result in fewer people buying gasoline and thus possibly lead to more turning to electric vehicles, Kelly said, “The problem is many middle-class families are not economically privileged enough to afford such cars and must not be punished for living in the sluggish economy caused by Democrats’ bad choices.
“It”™s also misleading to suggest that the TCI gas tax will lead to cleaner air in Connecticut,” he added, “as states to our west are not moving forward with their own clean air reforms.
Meanwhile, Lamont announced Tuesday that, as part of his administration”™s ongoing efforts to help the state recover from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, he is directing CTtransit to provide free, statewide bus service to all customers every weekend this summer beginning Memorial Day weekend and lasting through Labor Day.
The governor said that offering free bus service during the weekends will encourage Connecticut residents to visit locally-owned small businesses and help support the economy in those communities that have been most heavily impacted by the pandemic, particularly within the state”™s largest cities.
“To help support our economic recovery from the pandemic, I want to make Connecticut”™s many attractions and businesses reachable by as many of our residents as possible, and implementing free weekend bus service this summer ”“ the busiest time of tourism season ”“ will help facilitate that,” Lamont said.
“Our ability to attract weekend riders through a free weekend-ride program gives our state and our residents an additional boost towards returning to normal,” said Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation will use up to $3 million that the state received from the federal CARES Act for the service, including accommodating for social distancing on the routes. It will include bus rides on all systems operated by CTtransit. Additionally, the department will work with transit districts outside of the CTtransit system to provide the opportunity to partake in the free weekend program.
In addition to Saturdays and Sundays, the free service will also include the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 31; the observed Independence Day holiday on Monday, July 5; and the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 6.
