Transportation at VEIC

In 2009, VEIC established a Transportation Collaborative to advance and apply its mission within the transportation sector. Founding members associated with the VEIC Collaborative include Local Motion, CarShare Vermont, EVermont, and the Quebec-Labrador Foundation. The Collaborative will also seek out other organizations engaged in the transportation field as projects and opportunities arise.

While VEIC is interested in seeing every member of the Collaborative succeed in their own goals, we also recognize that by linking our work and voices we can have a much greater influence as we pursue innovations and efficiencies in transportation and mobility. This experiment with the Collaborative can prove a model for the rest of rural America resulting in major impact from modest beginnings in a small state.

The Collaborative - What we do

Mission statement: The mission of the Collaborative is to foster a thriving and sustainable transportation system by developing, implementing, and advocating for model mobility and access projects and policies that can be verified and replicated. The Collaborative also specifically serves a project management function to develop, implement, coordinate and account for a broad variety of transportation-related initiatives.

The Collaborative provides consulting and support services to communities, planning organizations, and institutions seeking to develop, implement, manage, and evaluate model mobility and access projects. We also work with public and private partners to develop strategies and policies that advance energy and fuel efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting mobility / access needs, with an emphasis on rural regions. Finally, we advocate our documented positions to promote change in the system. In short, we Think, Do, and Advocate across modes.

Selected Services

The VEIC Transportation Collaborative works closely with partner organizations to develop and implement cooperative mobility projects. The Collaborative also provides consulting services to communities, public agencies, private companies, and organizations for the development and implementation of thriving and sustainable transportation systems that achieve energy efficiencies and reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions.

Example initiatives include:

• Vehicles and Emissions: Policy and Practice;
• Cost, environmental impact analysis and incentive options for entities interested in replacing existing fleets with Low- and Zero-emission vehicles;
• Low and Zero Emission Vehicles: impact analysis of California LEV and related state, provincial, and regional policies and initiatives;
• Alternative and advanced vehicle lease programs;
• Clean Diesel retrofits;
• Integrating Vehicle Technology with the Emerging Vermont Smart Grid (V2G): The electric grid offers one of the most promising options for moving to a low carbon fuel base. We have proposed a significant initiative in this realm. V2G fosters the development and storage of renewable fuels, distributed generation, and better management of grid loads, demand, and supply;
• Carbon accounting strategies for transportation.