Prepare the Anus: NC DOT wants to charge you $0.005 for every mile you drive

[g5jamz]

Where would you put the tolls.  I-95? 

 

We have one in Raleigh (Triangle Expressway) and no one drives on it.  I drive on it from time to time to save time getting to Fuquay from RTP, but there's no way the amount of traffic on it is enough to cover maintenance, power for lights, brick and mortar facilities for buying stickers/transponders, salaries, etc. 

 

 

[thefuzz]

Hey, I have an idea.

 

Why don't we cut some of our dumb spending off the books and use that money to pay for things that matter to the public....like transportation.

[Niner National]

Hey, I have an idea.

 

Why don't we cut some of our dumb spending off the books and use that money to pay for things that matter to the public....like transportation.

That'll help some, but with driving habits changing among millenials and new MPG mandates for the future, and rising material costs the math simply won't add up.

 

Less miles driven + better MPG + costlier materials = financial disaster.

[thefuzz]

That'll help some, but with driving habits changing among millenials and new MPG mandates for the future, and rising material costs the math simply won't add up.

 

Less miles driven + better MPG + costlier materials = financial disaster.

 

If I'm not mistaken we spend more on pensions than we do on transportation.

 

Are you telling me that we can't tug the belt a little tighter rather than open up a new revenue stream for a government agency?

[Paintballr]

Doubt it happens, if it is cause lf a new generation that is driving less, better cars, better mileage I mean damn excuse us for being smarter?....politicians need to realize they are now the majority voter group and will be the main people voting for the next 30 years better keep them happy

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[toldozer]

Just so everyone knows if and big if you drive 20,000 miles in a year that's 100 bucks. Not that much money. Be easier just to up gas tax a little

[Niner National]

If I'm not mistaken we spend more on pensions than we do on transportation.

 

Are you telling me that we can't tug the belt a little tighter rather than open up a new revenue stream for a government agency?

Short term sure. I'm just saying long term it's a losing battle. We'll have to change the funding model from gas tax to something else or a combination of both.

 

As people upgrade to more fuel efficient cars, they're effectively giving themselves a tax cut, so keep that in mind. If you drive a car that gets 20 miles per gallon today and 20 years from now your car gets 60 mpg, you reduced your tax burden by 66.7%. Combine that with the fact that people are driving fewer miles on average than they did in the past, so that's pulls even more funds away from the highway fund. Roads construction isn't getting any cheaper, so the loss of funding has to be made up somewhere.

 

I only put about 15 gallons of gas in my car each month. Most of the people I know my age drive less than 5 miles to work, so we're not contributing much to the maintenance of roads. We're not alone, it's a generational shift. 

 

If the trend continues, highway funds will be billions of dollars short. You can cut some from other programs, but only so much. How do you make up the difference?

[Davidson Deac II]

Where would you put the tolls.  I-95? 

 

We have one in Raleigh (Triangle Expressway) and no one drives on it.  I drive on it from time to time to save time getting to Fuquay from RTP, but there's no way the amount of traffic on it is enough to cover maintenance, power for lights, brick and mortar facilities for buying stickers/transponders, salaries, etc. 

 

I95, I40, I85, etc...  I lived in toll road states, and they were effective, and the traffic wasn't that bad when they were properly implemented. 

[toldozer]

Short term sure. I'm just saying long term it's a losing battle. We'll have to change the funding model from gas tax to something else or a combination of both.

As people upgrade to more fuel efficient cars, they're effectively giving themselves a tax cut, so keep that in mind. If you drive a car that gets 20 miles per gallon today and 20 years from now your car gets 60 mpg, you reduced your tax burden by 66.7%. Combine that with the fact that people are driving fewer miles on average than they did in the past, so that's pulls even more funds away from the highway fund. Roads construction isn't getting any cheaper, so the loss of funding has to be made up somewhere.

I only put about 15 gallons of gas in my car each month. Most of the people I know my age drive less than 5 miles to work, so we're not contributing much to the maintenance of roads. We're not alone, it's a generational shift.

If the trend continues, highway funds will be billions of dollars short. You can cut some from other programs, but only so much. How do you make up the difference?

So you drive less, you drive a better car, your car is doing less harm to the roads and the environment. Umm kinda sounds like you should be getting a tax break.

[Niner National]

So you drive less, you drive a better car, your car is doing less harm to the roads and the environment. Umm kinda sounds like you should be getting a tax break.

I don't disagree, but roads will need maintenance frequently even if they are driven on less. Weather still takes a toll on them.

 

In the future, where does that money come from? The current funding model won't work. There will have to be changes.

[Creepster]

If the friggin crooks at the DOT would stop giving outrageous contracts to all their private sector buddies we would have the roads in this state that we have already paid for with our gas taxes.  Bunch of bastards are no better than common thieves.

[BuffaloBills62]

I hate the NCDOT.

 

Clarifcation:  I hate the NCDOT.

 

They are attempting to remove all at grade crossings on the railway from Raleigh to Charlotte in hopes of a high speed line being available in 20 years.  This includes many towns with the railway traveling right smack dab down the middle of their Main Street.  Thomasville, Salisbury, Kannapolis, Burlington, Concord, all points in between will be effected.

 

It is costing a ton and consdired part of Supreme Overload Obama's shovel ready program.