Raise Taxes to Pay for Public Transit

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Expansive public transit systems are expensive to build, and often are money-losers for the cities and states that maintain them. Over at Planetizen, Todd Gitman argues that the citizens of a city with a robust public transit system realize so many cost savings that raising taxes to support better public transit would actually save people money:

Providing high quality public transit service typically requires about $268 in annual subsidies and $108 in additional fares per capita, but reduces vehicle, parking and road costs an average of $1,040 per capita. For an average household this works out to $775 annually in additional public transit expenses and $2,350 in vehicle, parking and roadway savings, or $1,575 in overall net savings, in addition to other benefits including congestion reductions, reduced traffic accidents, pollution emission reductions, improved mobility for non-drivers, and improved public fitness and health. Physically and economically disadvantaged people tend to enjoy particularly large savings and benefits since they rely on alternative modes and are price sensitive.

Read the full post here at Planetizen.