8 cent gas tax? also motor vehicle tax 1.5% (Seattle: 2013, how much)

[civic94]

Mayor, county ex. want high gas taxes - seattlepi.com


your thoughts?

[Beenhere4ever]

Get an electric car.

[Botev1912]

I think that's not enough. Look at the roads condition in Seattle city limits. Then go to France, Germany, Spain and see how roads are supposed to look like.

[Beenhere4ever]

They probably don't beat their roads so much. Ours is the one country that absolutely does not believe in railroad travel. Plus we probably lead the world in average weight of our private vehicle fleet.

[Botev1912]

This is true, but their gas tax is a lot more than the US tax and this is another reason for the road quality.

[jm31828]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

I think that's not enough. Look at the roads condition in Seattle city limits. Then go to France, Germany, Spain and see how roads are supposed to look like.

But, if you go to other places such as Texas that have lower gas taxes than we currently do they have nicer, better maintained roads. I don't know what the answer is, but it seems maybe the money we bring in is not being allocated correctly.

[Beenhere4ever]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

This is true, but their gas tax is a lot more than the US tax and this is another reason for the road quality.

Yeh, I forgot that. Not only do we have no love for trains, we also don't have much love for the roads we drive on. Truth is we just want whatever China ships over here in those containers. All other things are supposed to miraculously fix themselves. What a shock to find this utopian fantasy not to be true.

[Apathizer]

Originally Posted by jm31828

But, if you go to other places such as Texas that have lower gas taxes than we currently do they have nicer, better maintained roads. I don't know what the answer is, but it seems maybe the money we bring in is not being allocated correctly.

I was in San Antonio a few years ago and the local roads seemed terrible. The freeways were fine (though congested). It might have something to do with the fact that roads are one of the few public expenses TX actually spends money on; they don't fund much of anything else in that state.

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

They probably don't beat their roads so much. Ours is the one country that absolutely does not believe in railroad travel. Plus we probably lead the world in average weight of our private vehicle fleet.

I don't know about this. The weight argument makes the most sense, but it's not like there's nothing heavy moving over there. I think it comes down to how much money they spend on their roads and that's it.

As for rail and other forms of mass transit, the roads are as congested in Europe as they are here. Despite all of the people taking mass transit, the roads are still congested as heck. Yes, there are areas with little traffic. The same is true of the US. Join me on a drive through Prague, Munich, or Frankfurt and we can talk about how much they beat their roads. The German autobahns are often a parking lot. You drive fast as heck for 20 minutes and then sit in a stau for 40. Oh, and they commute to work with their cars. At least many of them do. Drive into Munich or Frankfurt around rush hour and enjoy miles of stop and go traffic. In fact, it kind of scares me to think how bad things would be over there without such good mass transit. I guess the population density is such that you can't even notice that people take mass transit.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Get an electric car.

Sure, then you just have to pay an extra $100 on top of your tabs regardless of how much you drive (or don't).


Washington state electric car owners to pay $100 fee in 2013 - Puget Sound Business Journal