Tag Archives: Ray Barnhart
Failure of transit programs prompts renewed call to end federal gas tax diversions
Federal Highway Administration reports a 3.5% increase in vehicle miles traveled in 2015. Yet, 28% of federal surface transportation funds (which primarily originate from federal gasoline taxes) are diverted from highways to public transit. It’s high time this raid of road funds ends. If local cities want mass transit, they should pay for it with local taxes, not raid federal road dollars to waste on transit systems with little to no riders. Continue reading →
Conservatives introduce “TEA” highway bill that scraps federal program, but pushes tolls, P3s, & transit boondoggles
While Graves, Lee and Rubio may believe they’re offloading their federal gas tax revenue problem to the states, in reality, they’re seeking to compound the problem 50-fold; the states aren’t any better than the feds on transportation funding. We should not be encouraging more tolling of any kind, whether at the federal or state level. Tolls are a tax. The principle of “pay-as-you-go”…
Facing Highway Funding Crisis: Remembering Ray Barnhart
One of the more significant budget and policy issues facing Congress and the Administration in the coming months will be how to continue to pay for the Nation’s most important transportation infrastructure, including its major highways, bridges and transit systems. The issue is coming to a head next year when the current surface transportation law, MAP-21, expires on September 30, 2014.
