Transportation

Because being there is what's most important, WPC's Center for Transportation researches and analyzes the best practices for relieving traffic congestion by recapturing a vision of a system based on freedom of movement.

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What's New

Sound Transit's bait and switch

September 15, 2008 in Blog

The Sound Transit study completed by Parsons Brinckerhoff and Victoria Transport Policy Institute was featured in this PI story last week. I earlier wrote on the WPC blog how the headline was factually wrong in assuming that a 30% reduction in VMT is the same as a 30% reduction in traffic congestion.

Nevertheless, I was very skeptical when this report claimed that ST2 would reduce VMT up to 30% if voters approved the measure so I looked closer at the report. As it turns out, ST2 will do no such thing.

The report actually says that if the region invests is a variety of other strategies, which are totally unrelated to ST2, then VMT could be reduced up to 30%. These other strategies include Commute Trip Reduction and Ridesharing programs, increases in fuel taxes to artificially increase the cost of driving, and road pricing.

The report shows that daily VMT without ST2 would be 99,398,539 miles by 2030. The report goes on to show that daily VMT with ST2 would be 98,536,539 miles. A reduction of 862,000 daily vehicle miles traveled.

So according to Sound Transit's own analysis, ST2 will only reduce VMT by 0.87%.

The full report can be found here. The table that shows VMT projections with and without ST2 is on page 9.

The bait and switch is unfair to taxpayers and voters. The PI should run a new story that shows ST2's real impact on VMT.

I-985 loophole: I-90 tolls can be used for 520

September 12, 2008 in Blog

There have been several references recently that I-985 would restrict toll revenue to be spent only on the project from where it was collected. This would mean that the state could not toll I-90 to pay for 520.

The Seattle Times has a short piece making that claim here and the PI's Joel Connelly made the same assertion here. Connelly says this:

Oh, yes, it would require that tolls on a bridge or freeway be used
ONLY for that project. The initiative would halt plans to put a toll on
both the state Route 520 and Interstate 90 bridges over Lake Washington
to pay for badly needed repairs and upgrades on 520.

This is not true, or maybe more accurately, there is a loophole. Under I-985, the state could toll I-90 to pay for 520.

I-985 requires that toll revenue should only pay for debt, O&M and capital improvements on the facility from which it was collected. But if there are no capital improvements, as in the case for I-90, the left over money is deposited into the Reduce Traffic Congestion Account. Once the money goes into this account, and once all of the other provisions to implement the initiative are paid for, the legislature can allocate the money, subject to the rules defined in I-985...which mostly restrict the money to be used on projects that reduce congestion.

Under I-985, the state would be allowed to toll I-90. And since there are no capital improvements, the money that is collected above the O&M costs to collect the toll would be deposited into the Reduce Traffic Congestion Account. The legislature can then, if it chooses, specifically dedicate that revenue stream to pay for 520.

So in effect, tolls on I-90 can be used to pay for 520.

Full coverage of WPC's Citizens' Guide to Initiative 985 can be found here.

PI headline gets it wrong

September 12, 2008 in Blog

The headline in this Seattle PI story claims: Sound Transit's light rail plan may cut traffic 30%, says study.

We are about to release WPC's  updated analysis on the new ST2 proposal and one of our key findings is ST2 will not reduce traffic congestion. So when I read this headline, I was immediately skeptical.

Our research shows that ST2 will shift less than one percent of all trips by 2030 from the road to the Sound Transit system. So its virtually impossible to conclude that ST2 will reduce traffic congestion, much less by 30%!

As it turns out, the study referenced in the PI article claims up to a 30% reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), not traffic congestion. A 30% reduction in VMT is not the same as a 30% reduction in traffic congestion. In fact, WA has seen a gradual reduction in VMT over the last decade, yet traffic congestion has continued to grow. This is why the PSRC continues to show that traffic congestion will double by 2030, with or without ST2.

The headline in the Seattle PI's story is flat wrong!

Congress just charged another $8 billion on your credit card

September 11, 2008 in Blog

Last night, the Senate approved funding the gap in the Federal Highway Trust Fund by allocating $8.017 billion from the general fund. This afternoon, the House approved the same measure and the bill now goes to the White House.

Once the President signs the bill, as he is expected to do, the federal deficit will grow from $407 billion to $415 billion.

Opposition to the bill came from several legislators who claim the Highway Trust Fund pays for too many unnecessary projects.

But when transportation taxes are spent based on which legislators have the most influence, just like in Washington State, what else would you expect. Transportation funding decision should instead be based on performance rather than politics.

In the Federal Highway Trust Fund game, WA is a winner

September 10, 2008 in Blog

The Federal Highway Trust Fund is funded through the federal portion of the fuel tax, which is currently 18.4 cents. According to the Federal Highway Administration, between 1957 and 2005, states have contributed about $575 billion into the Trust Fund.

In return, Congress allocates this money back to states for transportation related projects. This means some states get back more than they contribute (winners) and other states get back less (losers).

Washington is a winner state.

Between 1957 and 2005, Washington has contributed about $10.6 billion into the Highway Trust Fund and received about $14.3 billion in return. Washington State's historical input/output ratio is 1.35.

Nationwide, including the District of Columbia, there are 14 loser states and 37 winner states.
The state with the highest input/output ratio is Alaska (6.66) and the state with the lowest return is Texas (0.88). By design, larger populated states, subsidize states with smaller populations.

Interestingly, between 1957 and 2005, the Trust Fund has taken in about $575 billion and given out about $637 billion. The historical input/output ratio is 1.11.

There have been several efforts over the years to devolve the federal gas tax back to states. But because there are winners and losers, states that have positive input/output ratios are naturally opposed to the idea. Another option is to have states opt out of the federal gas tax program. Because Texas has the lowest input/output ratio, it's not surprising that Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison says she will propose legislation that will do just that.

2008 State & Federal Gas Taxes

September 9, 2008 in Blog

With all the talk at the federal level on the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, here is a comparison of state and federal gas taxes for every state in the country. Washington is tied with Michigan as having the fifth highest gas tax burden in the country.

Gas_tax_map_2

Annual Transportation Conference

September 4, 2008 in Events
Date: 
Thursday, September 4th, 2008 - Friday, September 5th, 2008
Time: 
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Place: 
Microsoft Conference Center
Redmond, WA
Google Maps

Washington Policy Center cosponsored this event with Cascadia at the Microsoft Conference Center.

Reforming State Transportation Policy: Washington State’s Efforts to Implement Performance-Based Policies

September 2, 2008 in Publications
By

Michael Ennis, Director, Center for Transportation

, September, 2008

For state leaders to put their transportation systems back on the road to success, they first need to understand their current transportation problems.

In business, measuring performance is a way of life. It is viewed as an indispensable tool that shapes decisions on distributing resources and managing a business. In the public sector, however, performance measures are often collected but rarely used to improve overall management. Rather than using performance measures as a management tool or as a way to set goals that the public can understand and support, performance-based management is treated more like an inconvenience because it might attract attention to the inability to meet ambitious targets. Quantitative measures of performance may also interfere with elected officials’ ability to distribute public funds to influential constituencies regardless of value to the taxpayer.

2008 Citizens' Guide to Sound Transit, Phase 2

September 2, 2008 in Publications
By

Michael Ennis, Director, Center for Transportation

, September, 2008

This November, voters in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties will again decide on whether to expand Sound Transit’s regional mass transportation system. The new Sound Transit proposal (ST2) would add 36 miles of light rail, expand the Sounder commuter rail by four daily round trips between Tacoma and Seattle and expand the Express bus system by 17 percent. Sound Transit officials say that, if passed, ST2 would cost about $17.8 billion through 2023 and $22.8 billion through 2037. The proposal would impose a 0.5 percent sales tax increase within the Sound Transit district, which incorporates most of King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. The total sales tax rate would vary among jurisdictions, but Seattle would rise from 9 percent to 9.5 percent.