[TriLUG] [OT] TriLUGger on the news

[Jeremy Portzer]

tomed at bellsouth.net wrote:
> I don't think tolls are a good idea, unless applied in some sort of coherent
> way. Money collected by tolls could eventually be siphoned off to another
> region, just like fuel taxes are.

Federal law requires that tolled highways that receive federal grants 
(as I-540 in Wake County would), only use the tolls to pay back the 
initial construction costs and on-going maintenance of the highway on 
which the toll is collected.  My understanding is this law is pretty 
strong and several court cases have upheld this.  Now, you're right that 
the state can - and would - redirect maintenance costs that would have 
been spent on a free 540, to other roads.  But the money collected on 
the tolls themselves must be spent only on that road.

> It would help if fuel taxes were adjusted over the years for inflation. They aren't
> because politicians are terrified that maintaining real inflation adjusted dollars
> would be perceived as a tax increase, especially with everyone paranoid over rising
> gas prices. Unfortunately, this means the Federal Highway Trust Fund is heading
> for insolvency, since the fuel tax rate, and revenue, have been decreasing in real
> terms for quite some time. I think it's due to bottom out around 2010.

I've been in Australia for a little while and have noticed they are 
pretty good here about always indexing things like this to inflation. 
Most public fees like tolls, public transit fares, etc., automatically 
increase every year on January 1.  This eliminates any political 
wrangling - everyone knows it's going to happen, the accountants work 
out the details, and everything is totally predictable.  The only time 
it becomes a political concern is if the government wants to increase 
rates by MORE than inflation.

--Jeremy