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[quote user="blue streak 1"]   <blockquote> <div><img src="/TRCCS/Themes/trc/images/icon-quote.gif" /> oltmannd:</div> <div>   Georgia does such a wonderful job with roads... Georgia deserves your scarcasm. <a href="http://www.ajc.com/news/deal-lowers-tolls-on-1196014.html">http://www.ajc.com/news/deal-lowers-tolls-on-1196014.html</a> Didn't any of the traffic engineers know about the tipping point from free flowing to jammed conditions?  You chase traffic off the HOV lanes back into the regular lanes and the jam will start sooner, back up longer, and take longer to clear.  Easily predicable....and just what occured! Yes I have loved hearing the traffic gurus in the mornings this week. To make it worse, the HOT lanes were projected to require >$1M per year to staff and control.  Now, with lower fares, and fewer takers than predicted, it will be much worse. Of course anything to give a few jobs to the party loyalists! The only good to come of this is it can be thrown in the face of the highway guys the next time they start talking about specific light rail projects under performing estimates. Don: It is getting hard to cite any underperforming estimated light rail lines.  Heh Heh!!  Norfolk is getting from 50 - 75% more riders than the 2900 / day perdicted. Some days more than double. Charlotte is another example.   </div> </blockquote>   Don: I do not think that the our posters realize how automobile centric this state is. Our state gasoline tax is the lowest in the nation at 7.5 cents less than 1/3 of the US tax. How does Georgia finance roads you ask?  It all comes out of general revenue. Voters have passed SPLOST ( special local option sales tax ) to rebuild and repave roads as there is not enough money from transportation funds to repair same.  There is now a proposal for Ga. voters to pass a general sales tax increase in each separate transportation districs to finance road projects. Boy did I get soome people mad when I proposed instead higher fuel taxes instead. Wonder what Sam1 would think of this?  Our governor is taking money from dedicated funds to work the roads.   <div style="clear:both;"></div> [/quote] The fully allocated cost of driving, i.e. building and maintaining roadways, policing them, repairing the environmental damage attributed to driving, etc. should be reflected in the fuel taxes (user fees). As a first step the federal government, as well as the states, should increase their fuel taxes to reflect an adjustment for inflation since 1980.  This would, according to Simpson/Bowles or the Deficit Commission, raise the federal fuel taxes by approximately 25 cents per gallon. Ultimately, the cost of local streets, farm to market roads, county roads, etc. should be reflected in the fuel taxes, as opposed to the current practice of paying for them out of property taxes.  Doing so would have a significant impact on the price of fuel at the pump and would make the true cost of driving more apparent.  Of course, there should be a corresponding reduction in property taxes. As I have said, if the true cost of each mode of transportation was reflected at the price point, i.e. ticket counter, pump, etc., passenger rail probably would be a more viable option for many markets, especially relatively short, high density corridors. Oh,intercity passenger rail should also pay fuel taxes, property taxes etc, where applicable.  When I say that each form of transport should reflect its true cost at the price point,  I don't exclude passenger rail. Unfortunately, my rational, business model recommendations are not likely to be adopted.  Amongst other things neither political party, especially at the federal level, appears am mendable to raising the federal fuel taxes, which by the way have not been increased since 1993.  Last year a Texas state senator from Dallas recommending increasing the state gasoline tax by five cents.  It has not been increased since 1992.  His suggestion was a non-starter.
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