I don't think that in the entire time I have been in the legislature have I seen a debate that evokes such strong emotion as the one that has to do with gas taxes. Not a day goes by where I do not hear from at least one constituent telling me to vote, or not vote for the gas tax.
For me, I represent what is probably the most rural district in the Massachusetts House. Many of my constituents drive 40 minutes to an hour just to get to work. Some must drive twenty minutes just to get to the closest store for a loaf of bread! And very few of my towns are served by some form of public transportation. Also, I would guess that on average, the number of trips my constituents would make in a year to Boston, and through the Big Dig, could be counted on one hand. Then there are the years of deferred road and bridge projects in my communities, while transportation improvement money, billions of dollars of it, went to fund the Big Dig. Now, with the project over and cost overruns clearly known, some in Boston are considering doing away with tolls on those roads and putting the future funding onto the gas tax.
SO...let me get this straight? The people who primarily use or live near the Big Dig, or those suburban drivers for whom the Big Dig was supposed to make for a less congested ride on their commutes to and from the city, will NOT have to pay tolls to use that road, but my constituents will have to pay a higher gas tax to drive around rural roads that have not been fixed in years?
And, those Boston and suburban residents also have access to dependable public transportation so when the gas tax gets high enough they will have another option for travel, paid for, again, via the increased gas tax? But many of my residents will...do what as another option? Walk?
WOW! Talk about getting your cake, eating it too and leaving the crumbs for the rest of us!
Let me be clear, I cannot and will not vote for any transportation plan that only allows for an increase in the gas tax. Any realistic transportation funding plan that wants my vote will have to include at least some (hopefully all) of the following:
1. Reforms. Let's try reforming our transportation system first before asking our citizens to pay more taxes. What about merging Mass Highway and Mass Turnpike operations?
2. Border Tolls. Why is it that other states like New Hampshire can charge Massachusetts residents for the pleasure of entering their state, but we can't charge them for coming into ours? Watch the NECN traffic report some morning and look at the volume of NH drivers coming into our state, down I-93, I-95, I-495 and many into the Big Dig.
3. Tolls. You know, as a western Mass legislator I pay them too! But hey, let's keep them for now. Especially if it means a better maintained turnpike.
4. Gas Tax. First, how much? Second, if a gas tax is to win my support, a good portion of it must go to increase the public transportation system for the Regional Transit Authorities like BRTA, PVTA and FRTA. More service to smaller towns is needed and expanded service on nights and weekends too! If we are going to raise the gas tax to encourage more people to use public transit, the public transit system has to be available to all residents; from the wealthiest suburb to the most rural town. I don't mind taking the political hit for raising the gas tax, but I must be able to show my constituents that they are getting something more for it too. Raising a gas tax to pay for the big dig will not win me too many votes in western Mass.
There are no easy answers and there are very few more that are popular.
What are your thoughts?
