Blogger calls TX toll road capital USA

Link to article here.

Watchdog: Drive a highway, pay a fee in Toll Road Capital, USA
By Dave Lieber, Watchdog
Dallas Morning News
July 19, 2014

The emergence of North Texas as Toll Road Capital, USA, represents failure of government of the worst kind. We have to pay for what we could do for free.

They say they don’t raise our taxes. But fees that can cost hundreds of family dollars a month to get to and from are money out of our pocket. Call it by any name you want.

The names are confusing. The SRT? Sam Rayburn Tollway? How many who drive it every day think of Speaker Sam, the long-serving U.S. House Speaker from Bonham?

Or the Bush Turnpike, which had to be changed to President George Bush Turnpike when the son got elected governor. Then the son got elected president, and the North Texas Tollway Authority didn’t change the name by adding middle initials. So the road is named after two men at the same time, although it’s not.

Learn to love tolls: Highway underfunding opens door to toll roads

Link to article here.

This article credits the work of TURF Founder, Terri Hall, to remove support of toll roads in the 2014 GOP platform.

Reinventing the American highway: The promise (and pitfalls) of learning to love tolls
America's infrastructure is dramatically underfunded, and our roads are falling apart. Time to change things up
By Henry Grabar
July 20, 2014
Salon.com

It has always been cheap to drive in the United States, relative to other developed countries. As far as our road budget goes, it’s too cheap.

The money American drivers pay into the federal Highway Trust Fund, through a tax exacted at the gas pump, no longer covers the costs of building and maintaining the nation’s road network.

It’s easy to see why this levy, which dates from the inception of the Interstate Highway System, no longer serves its purpose. The federal gas tax has stood at 18.4 cents a gallon since 1993, rendering its budget-replenishing power woefully small. Neither President Obama nor Congressional Republicans seem to be interested in raising it and resetting the calculus.

DPS ignores lawmakers, starts fingerprinting Texans

Link to article here.

Texas Agency Ignores House Vote, Starts Fingerprinting Everyone
Friday, July 18, 2014
By: Jon Cassidy, Watchdog.org

Last month, the Texas Department of Public Safety started collecting full sets of fingerprints from every Texan who comes into their offices for a new driver's license or a renewal.

But the regulation that DPS adopted for this new policy didn't take effect until July 6.

The department may have jumped the gun, but that's the least of the legal trouble it may get into with this policy, which includes uploading the prints to a criminal history database.

The department's lawyers insist the new rule is authorized by existing law. That law, however, was passed almost 10 years ago and has never been interpreted like this.



Scott Henson, who covered the debate 10 years ago for his widely read criminal justice blog, Grits for Breakfast, says Texas lawmakers had no such intention. In fact, when the idea was put to a vote during the 78th Legislature, it was rejected by the state House, 111-26.



"I remember when that law passed and thought we [privacy advocates] won," he wrote in an email Thursday. "Can't believe they're pretending that was permission to do this. [Jon] Cassidy's depiction of the original intent — thumbprint OR index finger — is definitely how I remember it ending."



The Department of Public Safety is using a stray reference to "fingerprints" in the legislation as proof that they're allowed to collect sets of fingerprints.

As I pointed out Wednesday, the reference to fingerprints, plural, exists because of a requirement that driver's license applications "include: 1) the thumbprints of the applicant or, if thumbprints cannot be taken, the index fingerprints of the applicant.

"

For those who shrug their shoulders, figuring they're not criminals so the intrusion is unlikely to affect them, Henson points to a "grave risk" in biometric recordkeeping that's easy to overlook.



"If biometrics become a standard form of ID that can unlock things like access to bank accounts, public benefits, or even the ballot box, they become just another piece of valuable data waiting for a thief to steal," he writes. "If my credit card number is stolen, I can get it changed with some trouble. But if someone figures out how to fake my fingerprint or my iris scan to access my credit, my bank account, medical data, or other personal information, how can anyone ever return what's been taken from me?"

States siphon gas taxes for other uses

Link to article here.

As much as conservatives like Mike Lee and others argue in favor of scrapping the federal highway program and handing the task off to states, this is why we can’t rely on states to do a better job than the feds - they’re broken, too. We need to fix what’s wrong at every level of government when it comes to highways. They need to top pilfering our road taxes for non-road purposes, especially transit and rail boondoggles and these hike & bike trails that canabalize parking in downtown areas and take away scarce road dollars needed to ease congestion.

States Siphon Gas Tax for Other Uses
Makes Them More Reliant on Federal Assistance for New Infrastructure
By Damian Paletta
Wall Street Journal
July 16, 2014 8:53 p.m. ET

States are allotting a growing share of the funds they raise from gas taxes to debt service and spending unrelated to roads and bridges, making them more reliant on federal assistance to pay for new infrastructure.

The shrinking pot of state cash is one reason why governors increasingly are in a panic over a congressional impasse about replenishing the federal Highway Trust Fund. The federal fund, too, is running out of money and will cut disbursements to states in August if Congress doesn't intervene.

Texas spends 25% of its fuel-tax revenue on education programs. Kansas has allocated some of its gas-tax revenue to pay for Medicaid and schools. Nationwide, making interest payments on debt used to fund existing infrastructure projects is one of the biggest state expenditures.

SH 130 faces bankruptcy

Link to article here.

Texas' flagship toll road faces financial problems
By David Tanner
Land Line senior editor
July 17, 2014

Since 2006, the state of Texas has put a ton of trust in private companies to build and operate toll roads in exchange for a cut of the profits. Just eight years in, the state’s flagship public-private toll road, the SH 130 that connects Austin and San Antonio, is facing financial difficulties, low traffic volumes and a “junk bond” rating from financial analysts.



Moody’s Investor Service, which twice downgraded the SH 130’s bond rating in 2013, announced this month that the SH 130 Concession Co. had failed to make a full debt-service payment to lenders on the money it borrowed to build Segments 5 and 6 of the roadway.

According to the 50-year contract between the SH 130 Concession Co. and the Texas Department of Transportation, the builder-operator carries the financial risk while the roadway itself remains owned by the state of Texas.



El Paso toll road still being subsidized by taxpayers

Link to article here.

We’ve learned that higher than expected traffic on a toll road does NOT mean it’s operating in the black. Until you look at each toll road’s traffic and revenue projections, all of these puff pieces pushed out but he press are more akin to propaganda than truth. Every toll road has a ramp up period where it operates int eh red. The Austin toll system is expected to operate in the red for the entire life of the bond debt - it’s being annually bailed out by you and I the taxpayer. So don’t buy the soundbites in the press - we’re all paying to bail out these toll projects…

César Chávez Border Highway toll road sees increased users, toll tags still underutilized
By Aaron Martinez / El Paso Times
07/17/2014

The number of transactions on the César Chávez Border Highway toll lane has continued to increase since it opened in January, but most motorists are not using toll tags, officials said Thursday.

So far, about 153,246 transactions have been recorded, officials said. Of that number, 37,394 were with toll tags, the rest were with the pay-by-mail option in which a motorist is mailed the fee.

Outsourcing toll collections runs into snags

Link to article here.

Outsourcing the billing for toll collection is predictably fraught with trouble that can quickly put commuters in big financial and credit trouble - or could lead to blocking their car registration or having their vehicle impounded.

Toll troubles linger after billing system revamp
By Angie Beavin
KXAN.com
Published: July 14, 2014

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of Transportation recently shut down its TxTag customer service phone lines and website to upgrade their services and allow customers an easier way to manage their accounts.

About a week after coming back online, users are still experiencing problems getting through on the phone and accessing pages on the website.

Fake toll road bills emailed to drivers across the nation

Link to article here.

Electronic tolling is rife for abuses like this one - erroneous bills by private companies phishing for quick cash by deceiving commuters into thinking they owe toll bills.

Fake toll road bills emailed to drivers across the nation
By Emily Foxhall
LA Times
July 16, 2014

Orange County switches to a cashless system on its network of toll roads, drivers across the nation have been receiving what is described as a phishing email saying that they owe fees for using the pay-to-drive highways.

Printed beneath a logo that mimics the E-ZPass design, the fraudulent email reads: "You have not paid for driving on a toll road. This invoice is sent repeatedly, please service your debt in the shortest possible time."

Toll road officials say this fraudulent email is being sent to drivers across the nation. (Transportation Corridor Agencies)

Neither the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which manages the Orange County toll road system, nor EZPass, which provides electronic tolling services on the East Coast, sent the email, according to statements from both entities.

The groups advise not opening or responding to the email.

Instead, they recommend that questions about an E-ZPass message be directed to E-ZPass customer service.

In California, FasTrak transponders are commonly used for toll collection.

The toll roads in Orange County stopped using toll booths and switched to a cashless system in May.

Commuters use either a transponder, which debits an established account, or pay online.

Business interests welcome Obama's push for P3s

Link to article here.

Of course, the Chamber of Commerce crowd welcomes more P3s that subsidize private toll operators and guarantee the private company's profits. We don't need anymore taxpayer-subsidized 'job growth.'

New jobs, new contracting opportunities – all good for Texas
By Mary Scott Nabers
San Antonio Business Journal
July 25, 2014

The concept of financing large infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships got a huge boost recently when President Obama announced the new Build America Transportation Investment Initiative. Geared toward increasing public-private partnerships (P3s) throughout the nation, the presidential initiative will provide all types of assistance to partners launching infrastructure projects.

A “one-stop shop” for assistance – the Build America Investment Center – will help partner cash-strapped governments and cash-flush private-sector firms that are willing to invest in infrastructure projects.

The center will offer a “Navigator Service” for both the public- and private-sector partners. Located within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), it will provide information to private-sector developers and investors about DOT credit programs and various other types of assistance and resources.

Public-private partnerships have already been highly successful in a number of states, including Texas.

The $1.2 billion Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Connector project in Texas just last week was named the “P3 Project of the Year” by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association at its annual P3 conference in Washington, D.C. This highway expansion and reconstruction project includes 24 lanes – 14 main lanes, six frontage road lanes and four managed toll lanes. The Texas Department of Transportation teamed up on the project with private partners that specialize in architecture and transportation, construction, engineering and design. The team also included a financial advisory firm, a national law firm and a joint venture construction group. This model public-private partnership resulted in the project being completed six months ahead of schedule and at a savings of $140 million.

Florida alone has completed more than $6 billion in P3s since establishing the state’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships in 2007. Its most prominent P3 project is the $1.1 billion Port of Miami Tunnel. That partnership includes the Florida Department of Transportation, Miami-Dade County, the city of Miami and a private-sector developer.

In Denver, a P3 involving multiple financing sources was used as part of the city’s $2.2 billion FasTracks development that combined light rail, bus rapid transit, development of Denver Union Station and other improvements. The city used federal transportation program grant funds, Private Activity Bonds, a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan and other state and federal funding to construct two new commuter rail lines.

In addition to the investment center, the presidential initiative also calls for a working group that will focus on expanding the use of P3s beyond the transportation industry to include such areas as water, ports, harbors, broadband and the electric grid. Also, the U.S. Treasury Department will host a summit on “Infrastructure Investment in the United States” on Sept. 9. This session will bring together stakeholders including leading project developers, institutional investors and state, local and federal officials. It will focus on innovative financing approaches to infrastructure and give an overview of other resources that can be used to support project development.

Texas has lots to gain from this initiative – hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new jobs and an economic stimulus that will likely ripple through every region of the state.

Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc. (spartnerships.com) and author of ‘Collaboration Nation.’ (collaborationnationbook.com). Contact Mary at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Obama Shifts to Urge Private Investment in Roads, Bridges

Link to article here.

Bob Poole with Reason Foundation is paid big bucks by the industry to convince lawmakers there’s all this private money out there sitting on a shelf awaiting Congress’ green light. Truth is thirty-three states have already passed legislation to allow public private partnership (PPP) contracts for roads, yet few are advancing. Why? They’re looking for taxpayer-backed guarantees. They want us to pay for their losses while they walk away with guaranteed profits.

There’s nothing stopping any private entity from investing in infrastructure right now today as a truly private venture. But companies don’t want to risk their own capital, they put the word ‘public’ in the PPP contracts precisely because they want guaranteed profit with no risk. Guys like Poole are snake oil salesmen. The private industry doesn’t just invest billions in public roads as a charitable contribution - all of that money has to be paid back with interest and profit through tolls. In Dallas, drivers are paying up to 95 cents a mile for the PPP toll road on I-635 - that’s a horrible deal for taxpayers and three-quarters of the money on that project comes from the taxpayers!

Obama Shifts to Urge Private Investment in Roads, Bridges
By Lisa Lerer and Angela Greiling Keane
Bloomberg Business Week
July 17, 2014

Stymied by Congress in passing a multiyear solution for transportation funding, President Barack Obama is looking to private-sector companies to help fix roads.

Speaking beside a project to repair a closed interstate highway bridge in Wilmington, Delaware, Obama called for making it easier for states and local governments to access private capital for roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

House approves short-term, $10.8 billion bill to keep afloat Highway Trust Fund

Link to article here.

House approves short-term, $10.8 billion bill to keep afloat Highway Trust Fund
Fox News.com
July 15, 2014

The House voted Tuesday in favor of a short-term, multi-billion dollar fix to the Highway Trust Fund, which helps pay for federal highway and transit programs.

President Obama spent the last several weeks at campaign-style public events -- including ones with the backdrop of Delaware and Virginia bridges -- trying to garner public support for the $10.8 billion bill and to convince Congress to approve the funding.

Spain seeks to keep its bailout of private toll roads off its books

Link to article here.

Let this be a warning to Americans, when private toll roads go belly up, they come to the taxpayer to bail them out. The devil is in the details of each contract, and in Texas, no elected official has any oversight over these public private partnerships. In fact, the details are kept secret from the public until AFTER the contract is signed.

Spain looks for way to keep motorway firms' debt off its books
By Sonya Dowsett
Reuters.com
July 17, 2014

MADRID, July 17 (Reuters) - Creditors of a bankrupt Spanish motorway business will meet on Friday to decide whether to liquidate it, piling pressure on the government to come up with a way to avoid billions of debt from nine failed toll road companies ending up on its books.

After more than a year of negotiations between ministries, banks and construction companies, the government has yet to find a way of saving the motorway businesses without debt of over 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) hitting its finances.

Spain wants to minimise the effect of any rescue on Europe-agreed deficit targets as it negotiates the politically difficult task of bailing out private sector operators with taxpayers' money just two years after sinking over 40 billion euros into the country's failed banks.

If the creditors of the AP-36, a toll road owned by Ferrovial and Sacyr, reject a viability plan put forward by its owners, the business will go into liquidation and under Spanish law the government will have to pay its debts of around 500 million euros.

Others could follow suit, with banks holding debt linked to failed motorway companies of around 3.9 billion euros, with a further 470 million of debt with builders.

The maximum hit for the deficit would be 3 billion euros, a government source said.

"This long, drawn-out uncertainty is terrible. The problem is not getting fixed and it won't solve itself," said a source at one of the motorway owners.

"It's a case of saving them, or letting them fall. It's that simple. Someone will have to make the decision."

Spain has pledged to reduce its public deficit to about 3 percent of GDP by 2016, implying some 35 billion euros will have to be found in the three years from end-2013 to end-2016 to meet the target. The deficit was 6.6 percent in 2013, and so a hit of 3 billion euros would make a challenging task even harder.

Ferrovial and Sacyr declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Public Works also declined to comment on the situation beyond saying the government was still working on a solution. Seopan, the industry body that is negotiating with the government on behalf of the builders, declined to comment too.

STAND OFF
Traffic on the nine toll roads, most of which connect the capital Madrid to outlying towns, has failed to reach sustainable levels during a recession.

Under Spanish legislation drawn up over 40 years ago, when a private motorway goes bust, the state has to repay owners for the cost of the land and the construction. The government has sought a way of funding its obligations through public debt rather than through the deficit.

Earlier this year, it proposed creating a holding company for the assets of the nine motorways while forcing a 50 percent haircut on the banks and paying the remaining debt, of around 2.3 billion euros, with a 30-year bond with a coupon of 1 percent plus a variable component dependent on the traffic on the roads.

But banks rejected this because they said the coupon on the bond was too low, as it compares with interest payments of over 5 percent on the government bond of this maturity.

"The coupon is so low, it would be like taking another cut on top of the one we've already swallowed," said a source at one of the creditor banks.

"We're waiting for some gesture from the government, but there's been nothing," he added.

The government has also had problems convincing the European Commission that such a scheme would not constitute state aid, one source with knowledge of the matter said.

The European Commission said it was in contact with Spanish authorities regarding plans to set up a public company to deal with the highways in bankruptcy proceedings, but declined to comment further.

Austin rail proposal draws opponents and a campaign

Link to article here. 

This is why there’s ‘no money for roads.’ Rail sucks up more taxpayer money than any road project ever could by comparison. Cost per mile to build is outrageous and maintenance cost canabalize the bus system. Bad deal all the way around. They threw in road projects in hopes of getting this $1.4 billion rail plan off the ground and past unsuspecting voters.
 
Pro-rail campaign off to fast fundraising start
By Ben Wear
Austin American Staesman
July 15, 2014

A political committee formed to support this fall’s probable $1 billion rail-and-roads bond election in Austin has raised $73,245 , more than half of it coming from downtown Austin interest groups.

That sum dwarfs the $669 raised by Our Rail, a committee founded by Scott Morris, a rail activist who opposes the route chosen for the city’s first electric-powered rail line since streetcars ceased operation about 75 years ago. Another faction led by retired high-tech executive Jim Skaggs that opposes building the rail line, no matter its location, has not yet formed a political action committee and thus did not have to file a report Tuesday.

The Austin City Council will decide in August whether to call the bond election. But in June the council unanimously endorsed a staff plan that included $600 million for an “urban rail” line and $400 million for road projects and some studies of potential future road and rail projects. The rail proposal would have a double-tracked line running roughly from Highland Mall in North Austin, through downtown and east on East Riverside Drive to Grove Drive, with 16 stations and four park-and-ride lots.

The city hopes to get a matching amount from the Federal Transit Administration, but the $1.2 billion total of city and federal money would still leave the city short of the estimated $1.4 billion cost of building the entire 9.5 miles.

The Let’s Go Austin political action committee, in a report covering the Jan. 1 to June 30 period, reported 28 donations, or an average of $2,615 per donation. That average was pulled up considerably by two donations for $32,000 and $5,000 from the Downtown Austin Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for downtown Austin property owners.

The committee has spent $39,176. The bulk of that, $32,000, was a May payment to a Washington, D.C.-based polling firm.

Toll rate comparison by state

Link to article here.

This has some great state by state data. However, the average toll per trip in Texas is far greater than the one listed, with privatized toll projects now charging up to 95 cents/mile to drive in peak hours.

How much do Illinoisans pay in tolls compared to other states?
By Caitlin Wilson  
Reboot Illinois
July 11, 2014

In Illinois, the Illinois State Highway Toll Authority controls the highways that do not receive any federal funding but are paid for through tolls charged of users. Illinois has five roads that fall under that category (four interstates and one non-interstate) run by the Illinois State Highway Toll Authority (ISHTA), including the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) and the Tri-State Tollway (I-294). The Chicago Skyway is operated by the Skyway Concession Company. There also are toll bridges and tunnels in Illinois. Other states may have multiple tolling authorities, such as California, and some, such as Kansas, have only one tolling authority. Several roads in Texas and northern states such as Minnesota, New York and Michigan are international toll highways connecting the U.S. to Canada and Mexico.

In Illinois, there are 10 total toll roads (including tunnels, bridges, interstates and non-interstates) that comprise nearly 377 miles of road, according to the U.S.Department of Transportation (USDOT). The state’s average median toll payment for passenger vehicles is $2.05, according to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures. This means that Illinoisans themselves pay for the organizational operations and infrastructure upkeep and development of these roads directly, by paying to drive on them, instead of the state receiving money from the U.S. federal government to pay for them.

Illinois is tied for the seventh-highest number of toll roads out of all the states that have any toll ways with Delaware and Oklahoma. Texas has 66 toll roads, the highest of any state, and Ohio, Kansas, Maine, Florida, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Alaska, Iowa and Missouri all have only one. Illinois has the sixth-highest toll way mileage of any state with toll roads. The state with the longest toll way system is Pennsylvania with 630.74 miles and the shortest is Missouri with just over half a mile of toll roads. Illinois has the 18th-highest average median toll for states where information was available. The state with the most expensive average median toll is Alaska at $12.00, and the least was Georgia with a $0.50 average median toll.

The Illinois Tollway, under ISHTA and the office of the Inspector General, runs most of Illinois’ toll roads. According to their website, the fees that users pay to drive on the Illinois Tollway are used to pay for services such as Illinois State Police, I-PASS customer service, and the maintenance of and construction on the roads.

From the Illinois Tollway website:
A promise was made that once the bonds used to build the original 187 miles of the Illinois Tollway were paid off, the roads would become freeways. The promise was well-intentioned, but shortsighted. The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system and receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations, so tolls are necessary…Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a “free” road. Without the Illinois Tollway, the state would need to raise the gas tax by about 9 cents a gallon statewide to pay for maintenance and operation of existing Tollway roads – or 11-12 cents a gallon if the tax was only applied to the Tollway’s 12-county service area. To fund the infrastructure improvements included in this capital plan, the state would need to raise the gas tax by more than 20 cents a gallon.

The I-PASS and E-ZPASS programs allow for users of the Illinois Tollway to drive at a continuous pace without having to stop to pay the tolls in cash. Indicators are attached to car windshields and toll booths keep track of who has driven where when. Drivers are billed for their toll usage later and can receive a fine of $75 for unpaid tolls and further penalties of $20 if fines continue to go unpaid, according to the Illinois Tollway website. Generally, pass users must drive through specific lanes to keep the flow of traffic moving.

There are a total of 5,880.66 miles of toll roads throughout the United States, most of which are highways and/or bridges and tunnels operated by the transportation authorities of the states through which they run, some of which are part of the national interstate system. Twenty-two states do not have any toll highways (though some of those have toll bridges or tunnels), including Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and Kentucky. Thirty-one states (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have highway tolls.)

U.S. toll road information by state:
Alabama: roads: 4, miles: 16.25, average median toll: N/A
Alaska: roads: 1, miles: 1.72, average median toll: $12.00
California: roads: 18, miles: 170.15, average median toll: $4.79
Colorado: roads: 4, miles: 84, average median toll: $1.63
Delaware: roads: 10, miles: 60.22, average median toll: $3.06
Florida: roads: 40, miles: 57.32, average median toll: $3.93
Georgia: roads: 1, miles: 6.2, average median toll: $0.50
Illinois: roads: 10, miles: 376.72, average median toll: $2.05
Indiana: roads: 3, miles: 158.15, average median toll: $4.00
Iowa: roads: 1, miles: 0.6, average median toll: N/A
Kansas: roads: 1, miles: 236, average median toll: $5.53
Louisiana: roads: 5, miles: 35.6, average median toll: $5.35
Maryland: roads: 9, miles: 66, average median toll: $3.94
Massachusetts: roads: 4, miles: 142.04, average median toll: $4.30
Maine: roads: 1, miles: 108.18, average median toll: $1.50
Michigan: roads: 7, miles: 12.26, average median toll: $2.56
Minnesota: roads: 3, miles: 16.3, average median toll: $4.13
Missouri: roads: 1, miles: 0.51, average median toll: N/A
Nebraska: roads: 3, miles: 1.66, average median toll: $1.00
New Hampshire: roads: 4, miles: 151.1, average median toll: $1.18
New Jersey: roads: 27, miles: 405.44, average median toll: $4.48
New York: roads: 43, miles: 618.56, average median toll: $4.06
North Carolina: roads: 1, miles: 12.6, average median toll: $0.78
Ohio: roads: 1, miles: 241.2, average median toll: $8.50
Oklahoma: roads: 10, miles: 604.9, average median toll: $2.13
Oregon: roads: 2, miles: 1.62, average median toll: N/A
Pennsylvania: roads: 16, miles: 630.74, average median toll: $8.19
Rhode Island: roads: 1, miles: 2.2, average median toll: $1.42
South Carolina:  roads: 2, miles: 23.5, average median toll: N/A
Texas: roads: 66, miles: 524.25, average median toll: $1.12
Utah: roads: 2, miles: 62.9, average median toll: $0.63
Vermont: roads: 3, miles: 11.9, average median toll: N/A
Virginia: roads: 9, miles: 78.74, average median toll: $1.99
Washington: roads: 2, miles: 2.46, average median toll: $4.16
West Virginia: roads: 3, miles: 87.9, average median toll: $1.20

Missouri rejects sales tax hike for roads

Link to article here.

This article says some Missourians would have been fine with a gas tax increase, but not this proposed sales tax. There's a natural tie-in to funding roads from users of the roads through a gas tax, but politicians don't want to be seen as raising gas tax, so they proposed a sales tax instead and threw in a bunch of transit projects (rail, bike trails, etc.). Elected officials keep dancing around the subject and digging themselves in deeper - adjust the gas tax to properly fund our highway system and stop trying to make transit advocates happy by endless compromises that get us nowhere toward fixing gridlock.

Missouri transportation tax proposal soundly defeated
August 06, 2014  •  By Virginia Young
St. Louis Post Dispatch

JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri voters delivered a resounding defeat Tuesday to a proposed statewide sales tax that would have raised billions of dollars to build roads, bridges and other transportation projects.

In unofficial returns, Constitutional Amendment 7 was rejected by nearly 59 percent of voters. It would have raised the sales tax by three-quarters of a penny per dollar spent.

Several opponents interviewed at the polls in St. Louis County criticized as “regressive” a sales tax they said would have a disproportionate impact on low-income households. Most complained that a tax on goods other than fuel made little sense.

“It’s unfair to have a sales tax,” Robert Kirby said as he exited the Sunset Hills Community Center after voting with his wife, Carole. “I don’t have a problem with a gas tax. Add 10 cents a gallon for gas and 20 cents a gallon for diesel. That’s fair.”

“But we don’t think it’s fair not to tax the truck drivers” crossing the state on interstate highways, his wife added.

Supporters said they couldn’t overcome Missourians’ anti-tax sentiment.

“Missourians, they don’t like tax increases, they don’t want to pay more, no matter what the situation is,” said Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City and the sponsor of the proposal. Kehoe, who watched the returns in downtown St. Louis with business leaders, said the problem remained, “so we’ll have to go back to the drawing board.”

Representatives of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission scheduled a news conference for this morning on what happens next. In a statement late Tuesday, Chairman Stephen Miller said the commission was “very disappointed in the result, but the people have spoken and we respect that.”

Officials had hoped to generate about $5.4 billion over 10 years to pay for hundreds of projects, including the reconstruction and widening of Interstate 70 from Independence to Wentzville.

Opponents complained that the trucking industry does most of the damage to the roads but would have paid little for repairs. They noted that the Legislature passed a special sales tax exemption for tractor-trailers in 2012. Also, Amendment 7 would have barred fuel tax increases for 10 years.

Tom Shrout, a spokesman for opponents, said the critics “kind of stumbled on to this phrase: Trucks don’t pay. It’s a simple message that resonates with the public.” He said his group would meet Thursday “and talk about next steps.”

Organized as Missourians for Better Transportation Solutions, the opponents ran a shoestring campaign. It reported raising about $27,000 — $10,000 of it from the St. Louis County Municipal League.

The pro-sales tax campaign, Missourians for Safe Roads & New Jobs Inc., raised more than $4 million. Much of it came from contractors, labor unions, engineers, trucking companies and others that stood to gain.

Department of Transportation officials have said that Missouri cannot continue to rely on the fuel tax because its proceeds drop as drivers turn to energy-efficient cars or drive less. MoDOT’s construction budget is projected to decline to $325 million in 2017, the lowest since 1992. It currently stands at about $700 million.

Without more cash, the state soon won’t be able to afford highway maintenance, much less new construction, officials say.

While the bulk of the new money would have gone toward roads and bridges, MoDOT’s project list also set aside funds for railroads, airports, sidewalks, bike paths and bus systems.

The pro-sales tax campaign stressed that the money would be used for a specific list of safety projects; that persuaded some voters.

“We need it as long as it goes to improve the roads,” said Debra Seals, of Normandy. “At least we know where it’s going.”

Critics said Amendment 7 didn’t do enough for alternate modes of transportation, and the sales tax would have been too high.

Though groceries and prescription drugs would have been exempt, the overall sales tax rate would have climbed to around 10 or 11 percent in some areas.

The state rate would have hit 4.975 percent, up from 4.225 percent. Local sales taxes are levied on top of that.

“The rates are getting high enough that it tends to drive people to the Internet” to shop,” said Tim Fischesser, executive director of the St. Louis County Municipal League, which opposed the measure. “Everybody that has sales taxes ends up losing, even though MoDOT would gain.”

‘NO PERFECT SOLUTION’
Transportation officials have been working for more than a decade to find more money. In 2002, voters defeated a proposed $483 million sales and fuel tax increase.

“There is no perfect solution,” said Kehoe, the sponsor. He said Amendment 7 was crafted around polling that showed a sales tax was most likely to pass at the polls. He said the fuel tax would have to be raised 20 to 25 cents per gallon to generate the money needed.

So Kehoe sponsored Amendment 7 and got legislators to put it on the ballot. In bipartisan votes, the Senate approved it 22-10, and the House 105-43.

But Gov. Jay Nixon threw backers a curve. First, he moved the election to the August primary instead of the Nov. 4 general election, a move that gave supporters only 60 days to devise a project list and campaign.

MoDOT hurriedly assembled the list, based on regional planning groups’ priorities. Major St. Louis-area projects included $350 million to improve Interstate 270 between Lindbergh Boulevard and Highway 367, and $200 million for Interstate 70 between Natural Bridge and Hanley roads.

Then, in early June, Nixon came out against the amendment, saying it would “fall disproportionately on Missouri’s working families and seniors by increasing the cost of everyday necessities like diapers and over-the-counter medication while giving the heaviest users of our roads a free pass.”

Kehoe said that Nixon had “never engaged” on the highway funding issue.

“Missouri has 32,000 miles of roads and 10,400 bridges,” Kehoe said. “When people start seeing bridges close, they’re going to say, ‘Hey, we do have a problem."
_________________________________________

Link to article here.

It's an outrage that bike and hike trails trolleys and other transit projects would be deceptively put on the ballot when voters think they're approving a tax hike for road projects.

Missouri Puts Transportation Funding Measure On Ballot
Missouri transportation funding ballot initiative would raise taxes by $5 billion and ban tolling statewide.
The Newspaper.com
July 14, 2014

Voters in the Show Me State will be asked next month whether they support a $5 billion sales tax hike to pay for the Missouri Department of Transportation's wish list of spending priorities, including road maintenance as well as a long list of projects unrelated to driving. The funding language will be added to the state constitution if a simple majority of voters approve it on the August 5 primary election ballot.

The proposal would raise the state's sales tax by 0.75 percent for the next ten years, mandating that the funds be spent only on transportation. Although the ballot language highlights the money going to "state and local highways, bridges and transportation projects" it does not clearly point out that the list of priorities includes nature trails, trolleys, bus terminals, bicycle lanes and airports. If it passes, the tax would automatically appear again on the ballot for reauthorization by a majority vote in the year 2024 and every ten years thereafter.

According to the state funding priority list, the majority of funds would go toward resurfacing and repairing bridges and roads, but very little extra capacity would be added to the road network. In the central region, for instance, Jefferson City would add lanes to Route 53 for $17 million. Route 50 would receive new lanes from California to Tipton at a cost of $91 million. Route 63 would see extra lanes in Rolla for $11 million.

In the central region, every transit project would receive $5.4 million to expand service hours. On top of this, Boone County would receive $10.5 million will add two hours to bus service hours. At a cost of $8 million, Jefferson City will get four more bus hours, and the Amtrak station will get $5 million for renovations. Another $5 million would improve Amtrak rail service in Osage.

Kansas City would spend $124 million on streetcars, and $24 million on bicycle paths, and $35 million for other bicycle projects. Buses would receive $85 million. St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) praised the tax hike plan precisely because it would lavish millions on his city's non-motoring priorities.

"For the first time ever, the state would support major funding not just for highways and bridges but also for special transportation needs and opportunities in cities like ours," Slay wrote.

If the measure is approved, toll roads would be banned from Missouri for ten years or more.

"The state highways and transportation commission shall not authorize, own or operate a toll highway or toll bridge on a state highway or bridge while the sales and use tax authorized by this section is in effect," Proposition 7 states. "A county or municipality shall not authorize, own or operate a toll highway or toll bridge on any highway or bridge under its jurisdiction while the sales and use tax authorized by this section is in effect."

A copy of the ballot measure is available in a 1.8mb PDF file at the source link below.

Source: Proposition 7 (State of Missouri, 7/13/2014)

Cintra's hijack of I-635 in Dallas to cost commuters up to $24/day

Link to article here.

Cintra’s spokesperson has lost their minds if they think paying up to 95 cents a mile, eventually $24/day roundtrip, in tolls is a ‘hit’ with North Texas drivers. The article says the 13-mile commute will cost about $7, but not during peak hours. The published toll rate will be up to 95 cents a mile depending on the time of day and level of congestion on the lanes, so the cost could be up to $12 one-way.

No one in their right mind signs-up to fork over that kind of money on a daily basis unless they’re desperate or independently wealthy. In fact, drivers are flocking to the side roads when they see the toll rate jacked-up in real time as they’re driving to work. They may get time reliability, but they can’t get price reliability so they can’t exit fast enough. Long-term this thing is a nightmare, and those who can avoid living or working in that area will do so.

More Toll Lanes To Open Along I-35E This Weekend
By BJ Austin & Krystina Martinez
KERA News
July 10, 2014

Dia Kuykendall, the director of corporate affairs for LBJ Infrastructure Group, says the new, elevated segment will lift drivers over the chronically congested I-35E/I-635 interchange and set them down at I-35 and Loop 12. The return trip will quicken the commute from Loop 12 north to eastbound 635/LBJ. The grand opening price range is 65 cents to $1.65 for the 3.6-mile stretch.

Opposing Op/Ed columns on tolls in San Antonio - you decide

The San Antonio Express-News published a pro-toll and anti-toll Op/Ed. Below are the columns that appeared July 11, 2014. Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom was asked to write the anti-toll position. The pro-toll lobby group, the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association, wrote the pro-toll column.

Toll is a user fee, not a tax
By Patrick Jones
Op/Ed - July 11, 2014
San Antonio Express-News

SAN ANTONIO — As San Antonio moves closer to tolled lanes on U.S. 281, drivers are about to learn why tolling is an increasingly popular option across Texas and in 35 states.
When you just can't afford to be stuck in traffic, managed lanes are a proven way to beat the bumper-to-bumper congestion that has become a day-to-day reality for too many San Antonians.
The saga of U.S. 281 goes back many years, and over that time, the region's traffic problems have grown into a full-fledged crisis.

Toll foes want public vote in North Carolina on I-77

Link to article here.

Toll lanes foe wants voters to decide
By Dale Gowing | Thursday, July 10, 2014
Mooresville Tribune

Insisting that the public doesn’t want toll lanes on I-77 or any other North Carolina interstates, N.C. Rep. Robert Brawley of Mooresville is hoping to convince the General Assembly to let voters decide the issue.

Brawley, a Republican, has introduced legislation calling for a statewide November ballot referendum about toll roads and dedicated toll lanes. House bill 1274, if passed, would require the N.C. Department of Transportation to suspend its planning for building high-occupancy toll lanes on I-77 at least until the referendum.

The bill seeks a referendum that would ask N.C. voters to vote for or against this statement: "No new toll or fee shall be imposed nor any existing toll increased for the use of any North Carolina road or highway."

Explained Brawley, one of Raleigh’s biggest critics of tolling, “It is time we actually let the people be heard, so I am asking the General Assembly to put toll roads on the ballot this fall.

“If the public and other legislators get behind it, (a referendum) could happen. If we do not there will be toll roads and big losses for Republicans this fall.”

The General Assembly has until the third week of August to add or delete items from statewide ballots.

Brawley’s bill was introduced July 3 and is currently resting with the House Ways and Means Committee. “I’m sure there will be talk about how (this referendum) cannot be done, but the majority of people in our area are strongly against toll roads and they want to be heard,” he told the Tribune in an email Thursday.

“So I ask my fellow legislators for their support in giving the citizens of North Carolina a chance to be heard."

In earlier emailed comments to media outlets Thursday, Brawley included a letter from a Lake Norman-area resident to N.C. Sen. Jeff Tarte of Cornelius, who supports allowing DOT to move ahead with plans for building toll lanes on I-77 between Mooresville and Charlotte.

“It is beyond me to imagine how any of our representatives -- including mayors, commissioners, Rep. Tillis, Rep. Jeter and yourself -- think this is good for our area,” the resident said in her letter.

“You told me over a year ago … that the tolls would capture the north-to-south traffic that is avoiding the high NC gas tax. As I and many others see it, the ‘lake area’ will be negatively impacted.

“Everyone says cavalierly that (motorists) have the option to pay. As I see the ingresses and egresses I have no option ‘to’ pay. If it is in fact being done to collect from a larger market, then widen the area between (exits) 23 and 30 and let us enjoy our beautiful area and quality of life.

“There are some of us who still have to get to the grocery, kids to school, doctors, hospital, etc. How hubris of the DOT to say that ‘soccer moms’ will be willing to pay! We (and there are many of us) are still looking toward a different outcome.”

Tall lane foes want the state to widen I-77 with general purpose lanes instead of toll lanes between Mooresville and Charlotte.

DOT maintains there would be no funding for general purpose lanes for at least 20 years, while building toll lanes would be done cheaper and sooner – likely starting in 2015 -- through a public-private partnership. Building the toll lanes would convert existing carpool lanes, and would be free for cars with three or more passengers, emergency vehicles, buses and motorcycles.

The state expects to finalize its agreement by the end of the month with the Spanish company Cintra Infrastructures to build and operate the toll lanes. North Carolina would contribute $88 million toward the $655 million project, with Cintra receiving all toll money.

Foes of HOT lanes argue that the lanes will do little to relieve congestion on the interstate and could ultimately cost the state millions if the private contractor defaults or toll revenues don’t meet a certain level. One anti-toll lanes group, called Widen I-77, argues that the state has sufficient funds now to build more general purpose lanes.

In late June, Tarte said he would ask NCDOT for a review of the Cintra contract but doesn’t expect that to delay the project.

Republican Sen. David Curtis of Denver, who represents southern Iredell, has said he likes the idea of a DOT review of the Cintra contract but doesn’t wish to see the project delayed too long.

“We can’t wait 20 years,” Curtis said in late June. “Traffic on I-77 is getting worse and worse, and in five, ten or 15 years it’s going to be a nightmare. We’ve got to do something now. I realize a lot of people are very upset and just want three (general purpose) lanes now, but there’s just no money for that.”

Public meeting
The anti-toll roads group Widen I-77 will hold a public meeting July 24 in Cornelius, where members will discuss the project and answer questions. It’s a 7 p.m. at Cornelius Town Hall.

Moodys: SH 130 Toll Road in 'Technical Default'

Link to article here.

Moodys: SH 130 Toll Road in 'Technical Default'
By Jim Forsyth
WOAI News Radio
Friday, July 11, 2014

  Moody's Investment Service today declared the southern half of the State Highway 130 toll road to be in 'technical default,' saying it rescheduled rather than made a June 30 payment on it's $1.1 billion debt, Newsradio 1200 WOAI reports.

  "By executing a waiver agreement, we understand that the project is not in legal default," according to a Moody's investor note.  "However, Moody's view is that the failure to meet the full payment that was originally scheduled for June 30, 2014 constitutes a default under Moody's definition."

Larson Grills TxDOT as Streetcar Vote Looks More Likely

Link to article here.

Larson Grills TxDOT as Streetcar Vote Looks More Likely
By Jim Forsyth
WOAI Radio.com
July 8, 2014

  As State Rep Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio) is contemplating an effort to yank the state's $92 million share of funding for the controversial downtown streetcar plan, a public vote on the streetcar is becoming more likely, with four City Council members now bucking the City Attorney and calling for a vote on the issue, Newsradio 1200 WOAI reports.

  Larson ripped into members of the Texas Transportation Commission over it's willingness to 'enable' the streetcar construction by agreeing to a bizarre 'money swap' with Bexar County.

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