LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
6/29/03
MTD Fares vs Motorist Taxes
"Why should we have to subsidize them?" is an argument
sometimes heard between motorists and public transit users.
And the question is definitely worth asking. Why is it that transit
users pay half the true cost of their transportation at the fare box while
motor vehicle fuel and registration fees only cover one-tenth of the true
cost of driving?
When worker compensation costs went up recently, MTD management
immediately turned to bus riders to expect them to make up the difference
in fares.
Yet, when road maintenance budgets go deeper in debt, do our elected
officials raise motorist user fees to cover the cost? No, they use general
sale taxes and bond measures to force non-motorists to pay.
Do a Google Search to see the Sierra Club Web site "America's Autos
on Welfare" for a detailed report on the hundreds of billions of
dollars a year of private motor vehicle subsidies.
When we have raised parking fees and fuel taxes to be five times current
prices, motorists will be paying the same proportionate share of true costs
as bus riders pay now. When that has been done, then we can discuss raising
MTD fares.
Robert Bernstein, Goleta
|
