Electric buses are proving unreliable this winter for Vermont’s Green Mountain Transit, as it needs to be over 41 degrees for the buses to charge, but due to a battery recall the buses are a fire hazard and can’t be charged in a garage. Spokesman for energy workers advocacy group Power the Future Larry Behrens told the Center Square: “Taxpayers were sold an $8 million ‘solution’ that can’t operate in cold weather when the home for these buses is in New England.”
The buses can’t be stored inside due to battery fire risk. Left outside, they won’t start in recent frigid weather.
The initial proposal would apply only to electric vehicles, swapping the current flat EV fee of $89 with a per-mile charge using odometer readings. While officials say broader expansion is not on the immediate horizon, decisions made in the next few months could shape whether MBUF becomes Vermont’s long-term transportation funding model.
A bill that would ban the sale of car and truck tires in Vermont unless the manufacturer has an approved plan to dispose of waste tires will get a hearing in House Environment at 9 AM Thursday morning.
The Transportation budget faces a $33 million shortfall this year. Growing use of EVs, increasingly fuel-efficient gasoline/diesel cars and trucks, and people working at home rather than commuting have conspired to reduce purchasing at the pump – where the Transportation Fund gets most of its funding. So now both interested residents and state legislators are looking elsewhere.
As much as 20% of public charging goes to non-residents who contribute nothing to highway maintenance. The state has studied—and largely rejected—direct solutions.
Bills, news rules impact cost of fuel, fuel storage, overtime pay, credit card usage
Rep. Greg Burtt (R-Cabot) said he is developing a bill to repeal the so-called “Road Rule” included in Act 181, the sweeping Act 250 reform package passed by the Legislature’s 2024 Democratic supermajority. The provision places any development on a private road 800 feet or longer automatically under Act 250 jurisdiction, regardless of project size or environmental impact. It takes effect July 1 – hence Burtt’s effort to introduce a bill to rid Act 250 of what he believes is an onerous provision.
New legislation (S.171) sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Rebecca White (D-Windsor), would create a Clean Fuels Program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Texas-based Barber Law Firm, examined data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine where truck drivers face the lowest risks on the road.
State police said 55 of those crashes occurred between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday alone. Thirty-two were reported on interstate highways and 23 on secondary roads. Most of the afternoon crashes, 31, happened in southern Vermont. Five injuries were reported during that time period.
The lowest price for gasoline in Vermont is $2.59 in Wilmington – at a they-even-wash-your-windows full service station.
The release of a new digital initiative this week has brought renewed focus to a quiet but growing environmental crisis in Vermont’s most populous county: the salination of local waterways.
State relaxes truck driver hour restrictions through mid-January as Northeast faces propane and heating oil supply crisis
The legislation seeks to establish a standardized system where airlines must pay passengers for delays and cancellations that are deemed within the airline’s control.
Homeland Security reports other fatal/serious accident TT crashes with Indian drivers
From midnight to 2 p.m., Vermont State Police responded to 50 weather-related crashes: 27 in the northern half of the state and 23 in the south. Seventeen of those wrecks happened on interstate highways, with one injury reported, while 33 occurred on secondary roads, resulting in three injuries.
Vermonters are driving more fuel efficient cars. More of us are working from home or just plain driving less. That’s a good thing for air quality and other ways but it’s bad news for the bean counters in the Legislature who depend on these receipts to pay for the state’s share of the transportation fund.
An in-depth look at Patrick Leahy International Airport’s $45 million terminal project, airline changes, and federal partnerships shaping Vermont’s aviation hub
Transportation fund receipts are down overall, with the largest deficits in diesel fuel sales tax and motor vehicle purchase and use taxes and fees. Gasoline sales are not below target.
A major obstacle to implementing the program is the Legislature’s requirement that a law enforcement officer review the camera images and issue the civil violations.
One result of President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Republicans in July is that it ends a federal tax incentive for the purchase or lease of electric vehicles as of Sept. 30, 2025. So if you’ve been thinking about an EV, now’s the time to act.
The biggest hurdle? Clearing passengers who board the train before they cross the border.
How particulate pollution from tires is worse than from tailpipes, and why this matters.
But there are ways to improve those roads that reduce pollution and strengthen against floods.
Was there a smarter path?
Officials have not determined what caused Belaroussi to lose control, and it is unclear whether any charges will be filed. Authorities said he did not require hospitalization.
Boima claimed he saw a sign telling him he could drive through.
Vermont’s ambitious climate goals are about to become very real, and could hit many of us in the wallet.
Part II of an open letter to Vermont legislators
Policy will cost Vermonters money, jobs, tax revenue, and likely increase emissions.
Crumbling highways, decaying bridges, and gridlocked traffic plague the Northeast as Vermont is among the nation’s worst for infrastructure maintenance.
Vermonters are driving more, but EVs and fuel efficient cars mean a depleted Transportation Fund.
Sales of gasoline and diesel fuel for transportation may have actually increased, a state report says.
Tax on gas & diesel could start at 26 cents per gallon.
A Senate bill to control road salt pollution notably exempts VTrans from the bill’s requirements while asking municipalities and private businesses to comply.
The goal is to reduce the environmental impact of road salt while also aiming to save money for municipalities and contractors by optimizing salt usage.
The mandate controls what cars are available, but not which cars consumers actually will buy. By 2035 the only cars available in VT would be EVs.
All sides expect President-elect Donald Trump to try to revoke states’ authority to adopt California’s strict rules on carbon emitted by vehicles.
“Our whole mission is trails that go somewhere,” one org director said. “The whole point is that you could use it to commute.”
Don’t force businesses to install EV charging stations their customers don’t want/need.
Interesting footage of a Newport crash and aftermath.
Both the cab and trailer were crushed on the right side and the trailer broke open, disgorging a load of furniture into a nearby brook.
A new state law requires drivers to give most non-drivers a wide, four-foot berth. Critics suggest rules for bicyclists.
Vermont’s public transportation system is looking at drastic service route cuts due to lack of funding.
Vermont has been a “California Car” state for many years, along with several of our neighbors.
Not to “non-public” charging stations.
This means the government is going to use its funds to help purchase Vermonter’s gas vehicles and offer them discounts on electric vehicles, despite some red flags.
For the second time in just over a year, a gas tanker truck yesterday caught fire on Rte. 7 in Ferrisburgh.
Fuel companies should stop doing business in Vermont. The State is, after all, in a huge hurry to get to its all-electric, no-fossil-fuel paradise.
Senate subcommittee grants whistleblowers a platform.
VT gas prices are noted in the media as being stable, but some sources are not discussing the causes, like that President Biden may be depleting oil reserves.
Since its inception in 1999, the program has invested more than $16 million in Vermont’s downtowns and villages.
The much-touted first Tesla dealership in VT opened in March in South Burlington, but some would-be buyers of its popular EVs still can’t get cars there.
Selective outrage towards guns while largely ignoring the risks posed by automobiles highlights a glaring double standard in our society.
Five years of data shows the state’s largest transit system is approaching an inflection point on the back of haywire trends.
Vermont is the sixth state in the country to install fast chargers under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.
The city is responsible for paying 5%, or $3.09 million (whichever is less) for project expenses.
Government is supposed to provide some basic, universal services and maintaining the state’s roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure is one of them.
This cherished landscape is going away. We are blotting it out bit by bit, and once those bits are gone, we can’t get them back
Berlin City, here we come…..
‘It was a constant battle’ to keep JetBlue in the Green Mountain State — a conflict that started long before the airline pulled out in 2023.
Cut us in, California.
On Wednesday lawmakers in the House Transportation Committee discussed a bill that is meant to further nudge Vermonters into electric vehicles…or give up on driving altogether.
Sales tips for selling luxury EVs to Vermonters.
Green Mountain Transit (GMT) has announced that fare collection will resume on March 6, 2024, for its Chittenden County, Commuter, and LINK Express routes.
