Strategy Page
tolls better than gas tax
Download 1.1 Mb.
|
tolls better than gas taxCongestion tolls should replace the gas tax- better funding, influence in driving habits, social benefits and environmental effects GALELLA 11 - One of the world's greatest specialists in traffic management and safety runs the company, Trafix (OTTAVIO, “Smart tolls are the best option,” October 18, 2011, The Gazette (Montreal), Lexis)//SPS The federal government's decision to build a new Champlain Bridge that would be financed through user tolls has brought about criticism from many observers - including the respected Gazette columnist Henry Aubin - who favour financing through a special metropolitan-fuel tax instead. But tolls are, I believe, the wiser policy option. Unlike the United States, Canada does not have a culture of dedicating fuel taxes for highways and public transit, except in special cases. What's more, proposed increases in existing fuel taxes south of the border have been stalled for a long time as new kinds of tolls are being tested. In a few states, like New York, revenues from tolls exceed those from fuel taxes. A growing number of jurisdictions have begun configuring tolls in order to influence when people drive their vehicles. Tolls are no longer merely being seen as a way to finance construction and maintenance. They can influence driving habits when the price is set highest at peak periods of morning and evening travel, and lowest during other parts of the day. This variable pricing model is known as congestion tolling. It has the effect of spreading out traffic flow to less-expensive time periods, and encouraging the use of public transit or carpooling. With proven electronic technology, there is no need for old-fashioned tollbooths, so traffic doesn't have to slow down or come to a stop. Congestion tolls can be applied to roads or bridges, or to express-toll lanes on highways. They can also be set up around a central-city core, as is the case now in London. Or they can be applied to all roads within a specific geographical area, through per kilometre charges, a system being tested in the states of Oregon and Washington. Congestion tolls have broad societal benefits. Because they reduce gridlock, they prevent lost economic productivity due to traffic congestion, which costs billions of dollars every year to the economies of big cities. At the same time, they are beneficial from an environmental standpoint. Reducing congestion means reducing the amount of time that vehicles spend idling in gridlock - and that, in turn, means fewer greenhouse-gas emissions. In 1975, Singapore introduced a manual-toll scheme during morning rush hour; it shifted to an electronic variable-toll system in 1998. Singapore's example proved that electronic tolls worked well, and set the stage for electronic tolling elsewhere. In 2003, London adopted an electronic-toll system to charge motorists entering the central area of the city. It worked well as far as reducing congestion was concerned, but when London tried to expand the toll ring, it ran into some logistical problems and had to go back to its original 2003 framework. In 2006, Stockholm tested a system like the one that London introduced in 2003. The test resulted in a 22-per-cent reduction in traffic volumes and a significant increase in bus ridership. When the test came to an end, the roads became congested again. In a referendum, residents voted to reinstate the tolls. In Milan, toll prices vary by vehicle type and model, according to how much pollution is emitted by different categories of vehicles. In the U.S., a dozen pilot projects were implemented between 1993 and 2008. Objectives were met for the great majority of projects, without any significant political controversy. A 2010 report prepared for the Federal Highway Administration evaluated congestion tolls in the metropolitan areas of Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas and Minneapolis. The report concluded that congestion tolling is effective and should be incorporated into long range plans. In Montreal, congestion tolling should be used on all of Montreal Island's 16 bridges, which carry 1.2 million vehicles per day and are chronically congested at peak periods. Montreal's bridges constitute the weakest links in a highway system that would benefit greatly from a fundamentally different approach to traffic management. Evening and weekend travel could be exempted from tolling. Revenues in excess of the money needed for preventive and regular maintenance could be funnelled into regional public transportation. The reduction of vehiculartraffic volumes at peak periods could allow for expansion of bus and taxi lanes, and of other modes of transportation. More park-andride facilities would appear along bridge corridors. In my opinion, congestion tolling offers advantages for mobility that cannot be matched by fuel taxes. gas tax better than tollTruckers support gas tax over tolls Wolfgang 11 – Staff writer for the Washington Times (Ben, “Truckers prefer fuel taxes over tolls,” October 4, 2011, Lexis)//SPS Calls for higher fuel taxes are coming from an unexpected place: the trucking industry. As an alternative to more tolls on major highways, the American Trucking Association supports an increase in federal fuel taxes, provided the money is put toward desperately needed infrastructure repair. "We have yet to see a scenario where some form of financing other than fuel taxes actually works and works as efficiently and effectively," ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said in an interview with The Washington Times on Monday. Mr. Graves, the former two-term Republican governor of Kansas, rejected tolls such as the ones recently proposed in Virginia and enacted in New York and New Jersey. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell a Republican, supports tolls on Interstate 95 as a way to generate revenue. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently approved major toll increases at the urging of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. The ATA called those levies "ill-conceived and unprecedented," and said the average truck hauling goods from Baltimore to Manhattan will see its toll burden rise from $114 to more than $209 by 2014. Tacking a few pennies onto the gas tax, Mr. Graves said, is a far better option because it doesn't require governments to hire workers to man toll booths or spend millions of dollars to build and maintain toll plazas. While governor, he pushed two fuel tax increases through the Kansas Legislature and argued that tolls are less efficient financially and can add precious hours to a trucker's drive time. But given the reluctance of federal and state lawmakers to raise any taxes during a recession, the ATA isn't holding out much hope that its suggestions will be implemented. "At this moment, our advocacy [for a fuel tax increase] is falling on deaf ears," Mr. Graves said. Directory: files files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 files -> Integer programming and game theory files -> 4 Integer Programming files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective files -> Pop Warner History files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations Download 1.1 Mb. Share with your friends:
|