Subway tax?

The Daily News reports today that MTA officials are quietly seeing how people feel about a tax to jump-start its long-stalled transportation agency:

Faced with an overwhelmed and incomplete transportation system, the Metro agency has quietly polled Los Angeles voters on whether they would support a sales tax hike to help fund everything from building a subway to the sea to repairing pothole-ravaged roads. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority commissioned a $65,000 poll of Los Angeles County residents late last year to gauge support for a half-percent sales tax increase, although agency officials declined Wednesday to release details of the results. One person familiar with the survey, however, said the results showed that the measure would likely garner the two-thirds voter support needed to pass. Angelenos already pay the second-highest sales tax rate in the state at 8.25percent, 1percent of which goes for transit projects. And if Metro pursues a ballot initiative to further increase the rate, at least one taxpayer watchdog group said it will likely fight it.

Comments

[Scott Mercer]

Excellent idea. Let's outlaw private cars as well, and put all that money towards building comprehensive mass transit.

We've got what, 8 million people in LA County. What's the average spent per person on a car, auto insurance, gas oil, etc. etc.? $4k per person per year? $5k?

That's 40 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. We could build quite a useful mass transit system within about 2 or 3 years.

No, this is not sarcastic, it is serious.

[Mandy]

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Instead of accomodating the bureaucrats at the MTA by giving them an additional 0.5% on top of the 1% of our sales tax they already receive, why don't we spend the money on a comprehensive audit of where the money goes? Adjust the salaries of their personnel to actual reflect the value of the work they do. Spend a few thousand dollars to figure out where the money goes, and prove to the MTA that they can do what they want without asking for another dime from us.

[n in studio city]

lets get this passed. but ensure that there are safeguards for accountability and also a comprehensive masterplan.

[m]

What if the local freeways were turned into bicycle only zones except for 1 lane used for buses? That would cut out on a lot of money needed for freeway maintenance. In the meantime, only use moneys intended for transportation on public transportation until the public transportation system is complete. This would also get more people moving, reduce our need for gasoline, reduce health care costs, make bike riding more safe (riding a bike is the most energy efficient form of transportation) and increase our air quality (which even though it has improved, our cancer rate due to pollution is still 10-12 times as what is considered to be "safe").

Make this (and other public transit needs) priority #1. Why not just put a hold on any new freeway construction/widening until the public transportation system is complete. In the mean time, as things get worse on the freeway, maybe, just maybe, more people will move to public transportation. Then once it is done, reevaluate the need for freeway expansion, etc.

What if all car violations became way more expensive and the difference went to the subways?
What if all public transportation violations became more expensive and the different went to the subways?

Where exactly did the money gained in the MTA fare increase go? Where is the money going when the fares increase again next year?

What if money reserved by voters for public transportation actually went to public transportation? I paid my state taxes and the money I paid is not going to the public transportation I voted for.

[Nathan]

I wouldn't mind a tax hike to pay for the subway to the sea and other transportation projects. However, I don't trust the government to actually allocate new money generated into these projects. Previous experience has shown that the government is perfectly willing to dip into these funds and reallocate them to cover whatever else they overspent on.

[RB]

YES!!! YES YES YES! If we can get guarantees that construction can start immediately following the passage, let's do it!

[Dan W.]

I will gladly pay the sales tax increase, provided the money goes to transportation only and cannot be raided.

Make it a 3/4 percent increase to an even 9% and lets build these projects even faster.

[lsm]

Faced with the money I already waste, the time I lose and the lifestyle sacrifices I make because of our woefully inadequate transportation infrastructure; yes, yes and yes, I would gladly join Alameda and share its lead for the highest sales tax rate in California.....if it would lead to meaningful completions of our transportation network in Los Angeles. Watching state gas tax money syphoned away from mass transit and having voted more than a score of years ago for this very county sales tax hike for this very reason only to see a grandstanding politician pull a proposition stunt so the sales tax could not fund a vital Wilshire subway extension makes me wary of voting for a tax hike promising "to help fund everything." To support this hike again, I need to know what share of which transportation proposals the hike will fund, what safeguards will ensure the funds are not snatched away for other purposes and how we will minimize the ability of politicians to trick us into again banning the funds' use for the greatest good. I am so desperate to fund a useful transportation system in LA county that I would even support something as regressive as a sales tax. I am loath, however, to tax myself only to see the money again thrown to other purposes.

[Sheryl]

DON'T RAISE THE SALES TAX.

Transportation capital infrastructure--e.g., rail lines and road repairs--should be funded by a TRANSPORTATION TAX system. Start charging a MILEAGE TAX, with a carbon component, like this one:

Carbon emission free vehicles, like electric golf carts and the old EV1's would pay a penny a mile.

Motor vehicles--including motorcycles and scooters--that get 100 mpg or more pay 2 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 75-100 mpg pay 5 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 60-75 mpg pay 10 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 45-60 mpg pay 15 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 35-45 mpg pay 20 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 30-35 mpg pay 25 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 25-30 mpg pay 30 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 20-25 mpg pay 35 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 15-20 mpg pay 40 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get 10-15 mpg pay 45 cents per mile.

Motor vehicles that get less than 10 mpg pay 50 cents per mile.

This tax should be charged to EVERY vehicle not owned or contracted to run Metro bus lines. Even buses operated by muni's like Santa Monica should pay this county mileage tax. Taxi companies should adjust rates to compensate for it, and car rental agencies should collect the mileage fees every time a car is turned in.

There are plenty of existing wireless services that keep track of where cars are and are going; the County could certainly work with one to come up with a wireless odometer that would feed into a monthly billing system for every car on the LA roads based on that mileage and the known average gas mileage of the registered make/model of the car, and pay that company 1% of the total assessment to administer the billings and collection.

A mileage tax like that would serve several purposes.

First, it would provide a HUGE incentive for people to stop joy-riding around all alone in gas-hog SUVs.

Second, it would proved an even BIGGER incentive for people to purchase hybrids or highly efficient smaller cars--not to mention the incentive to find a EMISSION FREE solution, like the old EV1. In fact, a tax like this might even put enough pressure on car companies to actually get those electric vehicles out of development and on the road in the next 5 years.

Third, it would relate transportation COST to actual transportation.

Fourth, a super-charged initial deployment, followed by a systematic expansion of a practical, gridded rail system designed to service the entire COUNTRY, and not just downtown Los Angeles would provide a HUGE number of jobs over a long period of time--and all the jobs should have to be CONSTRUCTION UNION jobs. No picking people up off the corner.

Finally, and most significantly, it would raise a HELL of a lot of money in DAMN short order!

This should be a strictly County collected tax, and should be split 33% to exisiting road maintenance and 66% new public transit infrastructure--specifically grade separated rail lines and trains to run on them, rail stations with retail tie-ins, and traffic separated bus lanes designed specifically to interface with those rail lines. Any money accrued that can't be spent must be locked up in a such a way that it is absolutely, 100% not available for robbing during minor economic wobbling like the state is experiencing right now.

If you want people out of their cars, you have to make it 1: too expensive to drive them indiscriminately and 2: VERY QUICKLY provide them with an effective alternative. Once you start providing reliable, fast, safe alternatives, the flow of money coming in will start to slow, but it will be offset with fares.

MILEAGE TAX, I tell you. MILEAGE tax.

[Dan W.]

I will gladly pay this higher tax if this is what it will take to raise the money to build our desperately needed rail lines.