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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2007

Contact: John Barnes
206-937-9691
jbarnes@washingtonpolicy.org

Sound Transit's decision yesterday to add $6 billion to the proposed roads and transit plan increases total cost to $42 billion

Family tax bill would climb to as much as $1,695 a year under revised plan

Seattle - Public officials are asking voters to approve a multi-billion dollar roads and transit package in November that would increase the current transportation tax burden by $286, or 22% per family. Today, Puget Sound families pay an average of at least $1,303 per household per year in transportation taxes.

The unbalanced tax proposal combines two areas of spending. The roads piece, commonly known as the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID), would fund about $9 billion in regional road improvements. And the public transportation portion, Sound Transit phase 2 (ST2), would spend about $23 billion more on light rail, bus and commuter rail service.

But that is not all the costs taxpayers will be facing.

Similar to financing a home, interest on the debt must also be paid. So if voters approve the ST2/RTID ballot measure, they will commit to spending $28 billion on transit and $14 billion on roads, or more than $42 billion.

"If we learned anything from the failure of the Viaduct tunnel and Seattle Monorail projects, it is that voters are concerned with runaway costs," said Michael Ennis, director of WPC's Center for Transportation Policy.

This tax increase is in addition to $208 a year that families are paying now under the 10-year, $3.9 billion Sound Move plan approved by voters in 1996. Sound Transit officials have decided to continue collecting the 1996 tax indefinitely.

So what does the public get for their $286 increase in transportation taxes?

Sound Transit says its phase 2 ridership will only be 158,000 by 2030.

"Sound Transit's plan to spend $28 billion to move 13% of the region's projected population growth by 2030 is not only expensive, it is not even enough to reduce today's congestion at today's current population," said Ennis. "In fact, the Puget Sound Regional Council estimates that Sound Transit's light rail plan will only carry 1.2% of all commuters by 2040."