Opinions On Proposition 104 (Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe: new construction, maintenance, taxation)

[Magnum Mike]

For those who are wondering about other solutions to fund the expansion of the light rail, how about adding a tax of some sort for those who use the light rail? I would think it's fair, if they use it, then they should pay for it. That's another reason I am opposed to 104 - A lot of proposed "improvements" lumped up into one proposition - From past experience that can turn into a big boondoggle because the money will not go where it should and the public has no control over what gets spent and where. If 104 proposed an increase in light rail fees/taxes to pay for the expansion, then I'd be happy to vote yes on it.

I get a feeling they want everyone to vote yes on this because rail ridership is not what they expected, so they want the revenue to come from other sources, like sales taxes.

I pay a sales tax every time I fill up my gas tank, and it is fair because I use the roads, although I wonder sometimes about where the gas tax revenue is going.

[phx1205]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

I pay a sales tax every time I fill up my gas tank, and it is fair because I use the roads, although I wonder sometimes about where the gas tax revenue is going.

That goes to the state, not the city.

[pbenjamin]

Originally Posted by kell490

Maybe people who want light rail donate money to the system or raise fairs to cover it. I will never use light rail I enjoy driving by my self to work. It gives me alone time I don't have to talk to people. I hate riding in a crowded bus, so standing room only light rail isn't my thing. Like most people that do not ride it or use the bus system why do we have to pay for it. The city keeps raising taxes if were not careful we will have taxes like East Coast city's.

THis is not unlike people who don't have children not wanting to pay for schools, people who don't use libraries not wanting to pay for that, etc. How about people who don't drive cars not wanting to pay for roads?

And again, only about 21% of Prop 104 is for light rail and bus rapid transit.

[Bondurant]

I'll be voting against Prop 104. Too much is set aside for light rail expansion. Phoenix should have explored light rail 30 years ago. Thirty years into the future it may be outdated and the same people clamoring for expansion now will be crying for more taxes for whatever "upgrades" they can come up with.

[sargeant79]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

For those who are wondering about other solutions to fund the expansion of the light rail, how about adding a tax of some sort for those who use the light rail?

They do. They pay a fare.

[sargeant79]

Originally Posted by phx1205

Why is everyone so focused on light rail? Per the sources cited earlier that is less than 20% of the planned costs. I'm more excited about the 600 bus pull outs. That will be a huge benefit. As someone that commutes down 7th St to Downtown, the bus pull outs will be great (assuming some of those planned 600 will be on that route).

Thank you for calling this out. The bus pullouts are a huge deal, and this does affect just about everyone who drives in the city of Phoenix. Buses blocking a lane at stops are one of the largest sources of surface street congestion, especially during rush hour. For the folks that don't use public transit, this is one piece of this bill that absolutely would be directly beneficial to them.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

For those who are wondering about other solutions to fund the expansion of the light rail, how about adding a tax of some sort for those who use the light rail?

Great point, Mike . . .

Another possibility would be to charge the riders a fare that would cover most, if not all of the actual cost to operate the system.

Down here, far too often I have witnessed "poor people" waiting for the bus with free and/or discount cards smoking and drinking big ole cups of soft drinks (Goodness knows mixed with . . . ?). If they can afford those "luxuries" they should be able to pay the same fare I would be required to pay. Also, no free and/or discounted fares may encourage the "full figured" otherwise healthy individuals to walk.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

I'll be voting against Prop 104. Too much is set aside for light rail expansion. Phoenix should have explored light rail 30 years ago. Thirty years into the future it may be outdated and the same people clamoring for expansion now will be crying for more taxes for whatever "upgrades" they can come up with.

I'll be voting for light rail, pretty much for the same reasons. 30 years from now the highway supporters will be clamoring for another massive Prop 400 style plan to cover 'long overdue' bridge and high expansion projects that have been neglected for a decade plus time. I'll hedge my bets that a less auto-centric lifestyle makes more sense in the long run.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

I pay a sales tax every time I fill up my gas tank, and it is fair because I use the roads, although I wonder sometimes about where the gas tax revenue is going.

You, and others who may never use the roads, also pay a sales tax increase under Prop 400 to fund the roads, because guess what? gas tax doesn't pay for nearly all of it. So under the rationale you're proposing for the treatment of light rail we would need to seriously increase gas tax or add tolls, so that only those using the roads pay for it. So are you opposed to all new taxes or no? This stuff doesn't fund itself...

[locolife]

Here's a link to the status of prop 400 as of 2013. https://www.azmag.gov/Documents/MAG_...sition-400.pdf