Friday, January 16, 2009

How I See It

Gas tax hike only a short-term fix

By Craig Carlson and Charles Chieppo

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The numbers remove any mystery about how we let our transportation system get into the mess it’s in today. Since 1980, vehicle miles traveled have doubled nationally. But here in Massachusetts, the gas tax that funds road and bridge projects hasn’t risen since 1991, losing 30 percent of its buying power to inflation during that time.

The result is a state system that faces nearly a $20 billion shortfall just to maintain existing assets over the next two decades.

In the short term, raising the Commonwealth’s gas tax is the fairest way to address the problem. Plummeting gas prices provide what will likely be a brief political window, and spreading the burden among all drivers is far fairer than asking some to pay astronomical tolls, while others shoulder just a fraction of the cost of maintaining our roads and bridges.

After making a difficult decision like raising the gas tax or toll rates, elected officials too often assume the problem has been solved and move on. But hiking the gas tax is only an interim solution; the depth of our challenges will require ongoing attention.

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that the nation’s population will grow by 120 million people over the next 50 years, requiring an annual investment of $225 billion in roads and bridges just to keep pace. Whether it’s tolls or gas taxes, the reality is that the days of driving for free are gone.

As technology continues to advance, alternative fuel vehicles will likely become more common, undercutting the viability of the gas tax as a revenue source. While raising tolls in selected locations is the wrong answer to our immediate problems, tolling is the best way to create a sustainable transportation system over the long term.

Rather than some roads being free and others toll, all limited access highways — at least in metropolitan areas — would be tolled. Spreading the burden among all drivers would result in far lower rates than those being discussed today. Electronic tolling would maximize convenience; drivers wouldn’t even have to slow down.

Such a system offers benefits beyond just raising the necessary cash. Technology allows tolls to be used as a demand management tool by charging more during rush hour and less at other times. Those in a hurry could have the option of using a premium lane that would be tolled at a higher rate.

Looking at transportation as a single, integrated system, toll revenue could fund the operation and maintenance of transit lines and freight rail. The MBTA faces an even more grim financial picture than the Turnpike Authority, with massive debt and a huge maintenance backlog combining to compromise service quality. Lack of profitability has resulted in freight rail capacity dwindling as vehicular traffic volume has exploded. These problems force even more cars and trucks on to our highways.

Raising the gas tax is the fairest way to deal with our immediate transportation woes. But finding a long-term answer will take much more. First and foremost, it will require saying goodbye to the long-held myth that roads are free.  

Craig Carlson is director of Cambridge Consultants and Charles Chieppo is the principal of Chieppo Strategies.