Transportation

Reliance on Gas-Powered Transportation Is Destroying Climate and Our Health

Gasoline and diesel cars, trucks, ferries and airplanes contribute 45% of the greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey. In addition, the high levels of car, truck and airplane traffic in our state release smog and particulate matter that contributes to the high levels of asthma and related ailments affecting our residents.

The New Jersey Chapter’s Transportation Committee is working to help reduce these emissions on multiple fronts. These include:

Promoting legislation to fund electric school buses.
Working with NJ Transit to improve service levels and public information. This is a cost-effective way to make the existing public transit infrastructure a better alternative to private autos.
Promoting a plan to run NJ Transit trains using renewable solar energy in place of a new gas-fired power plant that is proposed in the Meadowlands.
Lobbying for Federal funding for new NJ Transit services such as the Hudson River Gateway tunnels and new light rail service in Bergen County and between Camden and Glassboro.
Opposing new highway building like the proposed widening of the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkways through South Jersey and Essex & Bergen Counties, respectively.

Electric Vehicles should pay their fair share of road use fees, but NJ’s solution is punitive

In the summer of 2024, the Governor signed legislation that imposed significant new costs when purchasing new or used electric vehicles. These included elimination of the sales tax exemption for EVs, and a new $250 annual registration fee with a built-in escalator of $10/year for the next4 years. Purchasers of new EVs now have to pay 4 year’s of this registration fee up front at the time of the purchase. This adds $1,250 plus over $3,000 for sales tax to a car with a 50,000 MSRP.

The rationale for this is that the state needs to make up lost revenue from the gas tax that is not paid by zero emission electric vehicles. NJ is one of 33 states that have imposed additional registration fees on EVs, but NJ’s is the most confiscatory. Four states are participating in federal pilot programs to test mileage based user fees (MBUF) in which the vehicle owner is assessed a fee based on estimated mileage and vehicle efficiency. And six states have begun to levy a small per kWh tax on electricity dispensed at public charging stations.

The NJ Chapter has done a thorough analysis of these options to collect revenue from zero emission vehicles. Our study shows that imposing a 2-3 cent surcharge on electricity dispensed by EV charging stations would be the fairest option, and would raise approximately an equal amount that a comparably sized vehicle would pay in gasoline taxes. Click here to read our report.

A Path Toward Equitable and Sustainable Road Funding in New Jersey with a Per-kWh Charging Tax

Electric School Bus Campaign

Replacing America’s diesel school bus fleets with electric will have a significantly higher impact on overall air quality and global warming than replacing diesel transit buses. One study estimated that nationwide school buses emit 5.3 million tons of greenhouse gases each year, compared to 2 million tons for transit buses. Converting diesel school buses to electric is one of the most significant actions we can take to protect our children’s health and lessen air pollution.

Learn more about how electric school buses can significantly benefit our environment.

How You Can Help

We often hold campaigns to email State and Federal legislators, and look for ways to raise awareness in local communities by writing letters to the editor. Join our work: contact the transportation committee at transportation@newjersey.sierraclub.org to volunteer.