Posted on 01/31/2005 11:16:47 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
PHILADELPHIA - The Lone Star State got a lot of attention last week at the annual gatherings of the trade groups representing state transportation departments and worldwide tollway operators.
"Texas has the most creative and far-reaching legislation to increase the use of toll facilities," said Ron Marino, vice president of public finance for Citigroup Global Markets. Marino said Texas has only been able to fund 37 percent of needed transportation projects in recent years, prompting the intense desire for toll revenue.
The Texas Transportation Commission has issued a series of dramatic orders to its planning staff in the past year: All new freeways, or expansion of existing ones, must be considered for tolling.
The policy has drawn the eyes and ears of officials in numerous other cash-strapped states who are struggling with how to raise more money for transportation projects. The federal gasoline tax hasn't gone up in more than a decade, same with the fee on motor fuels in most states, including Texas.
Legislation to boost federal funding for highway and transit infrastructure has been stuck in Congress, with the one-year anniversary of the bill's missed deadline coming up Thursday. That's the same day the temporary funding authorization expires. If negotiators in Washington can't reach an agreement this week, they are expected to continue the funding freeze until after the November election.
Neither the House nor Senate included a federal gas tax increase in their versions of the bill. Marino said lawmakers in only three states have hiked their fuel taxes since 2000. Many politicians are afraid of voter retribution, especially with higher oil prices driving up the price at the pump.
"There is an abundance of transportation improvements needed in the United States, but a lack of funds, and there are political roadblocks," said Gary Hausdorfer, chairman of tollway consulting firm Cofiroute USA.
With tax rates unchanged for so long, inflation has eaten a large chunk out of the buying power of transportation dollars. While the number of vehicles on the road (and drivers paying the gas tax) has shot up in the past decade, so have maintenance costs.
Hundreds of delegates at conferences last week of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials as well as the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association filled meeting rooms to hear of Texas' "my way is the tollway" plan. It includes turning over long-stalled state projects to regional toll authorities, issuing bonds to expedite construction, and adding tolls to existing highways (such as Texas 249 in Harris County) to help fund their expansion.
"Between 1990 and 2000, we simply couldn't keep up with the growth we are experiencing in Texas," said Phillip Russell, director of the Texas Department of Transportation's toll division. "Our population grew by 23 percent and our vehicle miles traveled by 44 percent. But our new lane capacity increased only 3 percent.
"We spend more on maintenance than we collect from the state gas tax."
The tolling trend is only likely to accelerate.
"Within 12 years, most of the interstate system in the U.S. is going to be tolled," Marino predicts. "It's the only way to keep up with the congestion and wear and tear on the interstates, especially in urban and suburban areas."
That sounds kinda ominous. If they do that, hopefully they'll keep the tolls low, maybe 5 cents a mile?
PING!
"Inadequate gas tax funds driving toll road plans!"
The DUmmies are salivating at the prospect of another excuse to raise taxes.
EZ-Pass is the work of the big-government devil. He will know where you go at all times, and will bill your existence accordingly.
That seems high to me - it's the equivalent of $1.00 extra taxes a gallon for a vehicle getting 20MPG...
It's a scam. They compare every conceivable project against one year's revenues. They aren't careful about what they end up actually paying for. (For example, it is standard contractor practice to resurface a road right before they tear it up. The resurfacing is part of the tab.) They reject incremental changes and let capacity get so obsolete only a mega-project will fix it. Then they size the mega-project for the lane capacity needed at the time, not what it will be when it is completed ten years later or any realistic growth/income projection.
In short, if they are out of money it is because they manage the transportation budget like a meth-addicted prostitute.
They do this, and the US will be back to a pre-interstate condition, with everyone taking back roads even for long trips. Towns are going to go apes#it once the big rigs start cruising through. Tolling the interstate system will kill it, along with the political careers of anyone involved.
It should also be pointed out that this country operates under an idiotic system involving conflicting regulations imposed by the Department of Energy (fuel efficiency), the EPA (air quality), and the Department of Transportation (safety standards). The fueld efficiency standards in particular have an adverse impact on gasoline tax revenues at all levels of government.
I heard a kid from Texas A&M found a way that TXDOT could cut their maintenace budget by 90%. I designed a shovel that could stand up by it's self.
Why are the states cash strapped - BECAUSE THEY SPEND LIKE DRUNKEN SAILORS. They subsidize mass transit systems that very few people use rather than spending the moeny on roads that people would prefer to use
The federal gasoline tax hasn't gone up in more than a decade, same with the fee on motor fuels in most states, including Texas
And this is bad because? If taxes continue to go up what does the author of this consider drivel consider to be enough? Taxes should go down. There are tens of thousands of labor saving devices and methodologies out there that industry has used over the past couple of decades to reduce the cost of their product, why can't the state do the same (see first comment paragraph)
The politicians did the same thing with lottery income. It was designated for schools in California. As soon as the lottery income stream appeared, the politicians removed an equal amount of general fund revenues from the education budget. Money is fungible and politicians are quick change artists when it comes to playing budget shell games.
SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH! Don't let Bob-The-Taxman-Taft hear this! He'll jump on it so fast, our collective heads will spin! We already have the stupid E-Check boondoggle hanging over our heads to generate money for the state, along with a tax on almost everything else that he could think of. SHEESH!
I'd rather pay a gas tax. Plus if cents are worth less than they used to be, so maybe a tax increase is in order if and only if it is used for road construction.
Welcome to northern Ohio. The turnpike (E-W along Lake Erie) has been overpriced, especially for semis. The result is that there is a significant amount of interstate truck traffic along US20, which follows an approximately parallel route. Ohio recently lowered turnpike tolls for semis, but I haven't heard the results.
The kicker to this is that Ohio's Constitution states that land for roads and highways may be obtained through Eminent Domain, but said roads shall be free - NO TOLLS.
I heard that the Ohio Turnpike's rate is about 4 cents per mile (I'm sure that's for cars). However, I drove a five mile stretch of it in Toledo last year as part of a road trip, and was charged 50 cents, IIRC, which comes out to TEN cents a mile. Very discouraging for short trips.
ping
I don't know about increasing the federal gasoline tax. Considering that about half the tax is wasted on pork barrel and non-road projects, we could probably cut it. As for the states, if the gas tax revenue is truly insufficient, even when all of it's directed toward roads, then I could accept an increase.
I haven't had the opportunity to drive it recently - just repeating what I've read in the paper. From the turnpike's website, a cross-state trip is 239 miles/$8.95, or 3.7 cents per mile.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.