Level the playing field by reducing public and private sector subsidies
for roads, driving, and parking. Pay for transportation costs
with transportation-related revenue.
- Substantially
increase transportation “user fees,” such
as the gas tax, license tab fees, tolls and
parking charges
to reduce the
subsidy for roads and parking from non-transportation
revenue sources.
- Reduce
or eliminate “free” parking
provided by employers or businesses
or offer equivalent subsidies
for other modes
of travel.
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The
cost of roads and driving is much higher than most of us realize because
so much of the cost is subsidized. User fees like license tabs and the
gas tax pay only part of the costs of roads. In Minnesota, local property
taxes and the state general fund pick up the rest of the bill for roads,
local traffic enforcement, court services for traffic enforcement and vehicle
crashes, and police and fire response for vehicle crashes. User fees don’t
pay for the environmental and health impacts of road-building and vehicle
emissions.
Government,
employers, and retailers subsidize another cost of driving — vehicle
parking. A University of Minnesota study estimates that in the Twin Cities
metropolitan region, more money is spent on parking than on roads, and
government spends more on parking than on public transit (1).
Because
many of the costs of driving are subsidized or hidden, market forces
don’t work well and we can’t accurately evaluate our transportation
options and their costs. If a higher percentage of the cost of driving
were paid by user fees — the gas tax, license tab fees, parking charges,
or tolls, people would choose to walk, bike or take transit more often.
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We subsidize roads, driving
, and parking at a high rate – yet it’s public transit
that gets criticized about subsidies. |
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