Massachusetts Lawmakers Advance Bill to Cut Vehicle Miles for Climate Goals

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill that would reduce the number of miles residents travel in their personal vehicles to meet state climate mandates. The legislation would require MassDOT to set targets for statewide driving reductions that influence emissions limits and EEA sublimits.

Additionally, the bill would set a formal vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction goal for 2030 and every five years thereafter, although it does not specify a target number of miles per person.

“The sector is the largest source of emissions in the Commonwealth, accounting for roughly 40% of overall carbon pollution,” said Casey Bowers, of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, according to a Boston Herald report. Bowers testified in support of the bill before the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy.

Filed by Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Norfolk & Middlesex), the bill draws on policies from Colorado and Minnesota to curb transportation emissions.

Supporters from groups like the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the Union of Concerned Scientists say the bill would close the gap between climate goals and transportation planning, delivering public health and economic benefits from cleaner air and increased public transit use.

Critics of the bill, including Committee Chair and Sen. Michael Barrett (D-Third Middlesex), warn that reducing miles statewide could hurt rural residents who travel long distances for work, raising equity and practicality concerns for non-urban areas.

“Why we would want to start to pressure Massachusetts to reduce all miles traveled, polluting and non-polluting alike, does raise the question of what someone is to do in a place when one has to travel a long distance to a construction job or any other place of employment,” Barrett stated.

According to the Boston Herald, the bill was reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy with a 4-1 vote in November 2025 and has been referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

If passed, the bill would also create a 15-member intergovernmental coordinating council to enhance transit accessibility and explore incentives to encourage public transit use.