BIG PIVOTS: Can Colorado Actually Reduce ‘Vehicle Miles Traveled’?

This story appeared on BigPivots.com on September 25, 2024.

Can Colorado actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation 60% by 2037?

That’s among the goals adopted by the Colorado Department of Transportation Commission to guide an upcoming 10-year plan?

As coal plants close, transportation has become the largest single source of GHG emissions – and it’s also the sector furthest behind in meeting the 2025 and 2030 reduction targets, according to the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).

SWEEP and others engaged in the conversation say achieving those targets will require a two-pronged approach:

• Increasing EV adoption; and
• Reducing total driving, or vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by 1% a year.

Colorado’s per capita vehicle miles traveled have remained stagnant except for during and immediately after the COVID pandemic. During those four years they declined by 3% to 9,195 in 2023.

In contrast, Washington and Virginia have cut their per-capital VMT by 13% to17%.

SWEEP and other environmental organizations involved in the conversation want to see a sharp increase in transit services offered by RTD, which services the area where a majority of Coloradans live. It cut service when COVID arrived.

The transportation commission is on the same page.  The commission’s document calls for an 83% expansion of statewide transit by 2036. That’s about 6% a year.

SWEEP makes the case that car ownership is very expensive and CDOT’s new policy framework will improve access to more affordable transportation options.  It has support from others in the environmental community, including from Becky English, who chairs the Colorado Sierra Club’s transportation committee.

However, in sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids, Colorado is on target of where it needs to be, said Will Toor, the director of the Colorado Energy Office, at a recent conference.

“This is important guidance for CDOT management to design and prioritize projects that reduce greenhouse gases in alignment with state goals, while providing Coloradans more transportation choices, especially communities disproportionately impacted by pollution from cars and trucks.”

Matt Frommer, the transportation & land use policy manager for SWEEP, made much the same point. “For too long, we’ve attempted to solve congestion with car-centric and costly supply-side solutions like more highway lanes, larger interchanges, and more parking lots,” he said.