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Joining the VRE would help all Spotsylvanians Date published: 4/21/2009
THE SPOTSYLVANIA C500's support is based on four key factors: VRE membership will mean additional transportation funding for Spotsylvania--an estimated $1.5 million-$2 million annually after membership costs. For example, from 2001 through 2008, VRE membership generated nearly $25 million for transportation projects in Fredericksburg and Stafford County. That was revenue left over after paying VRE obligations. During that same period, Spotsylvania received zero dollars from VRE membership. VDOT budget cuts mean local funding for road and transportation projects will become even more critical. By FY2011, the county's transportation fund--revenues from decal fees and proffers--will be fully obligated and depleted. That means phase II bond projects and other improvements cannot begin. We are already paying the equivalent of the 2 percent gas tax, so membership will not affect local gas prices. By state mandate, each VRE member jurisdiction pays an annual VRE subsidy out of revenues from a 2 percent gas surcharge. Money left over is available to the jurisdiction to use for local transportation projects. It can be difficult to accept that a 2 percent surcharge would have negligible impact on our gas prices. But an objective and extensive region-wide gas price comparison with VRE members Fredericksburg and Stafford strongly supports this conclusion. A summary is available at the C500 Web site, committee500.org. The bottom line is that prices are actually the same or lower at many stations in Fredericksburg and Stafford; the 2 percent VRE surcharge is built into the market-based prices we're paying now in Spotsylvania.
Vans & Buses are not public transportation (except Metro, FRED, etc.), they are public conveyence that is privately owned. They are more like taxi service than FRED. A private venture avail to public. VRE, FRED, METRO are all government run transportation options. If your beef is with the government running public transport, that's a different issue (and one that in a free market may have some merit). But Bob's Van Pool is not the same as VRE or FRED.
I think miss my point. Since the state and local transportation budgets do not subsidize rail to the same level invested in roads, it isn't an issue of equity. Buses and vans and cars do not pay (generally) for the right to use the public right-of-way known as roads and highways. They are subsidized at a rate that rail could only dream of. If you want equity, then state and local transportation funds should cover everything but the cost of the rider's tickets. Would then be on equal footing with bus/vans.
Committee of 500 are commuters on the VRE ("fail rail")? Hmmm, some of the priviledged few who will benefit from the mass of citizens paying their way to work. C'mon Co500, why don't you look at the rational arguments against joining VRE? It's a money pit; a failure waiting to happen as soon as gov't subsidies can't keep pace with the exorbinant costs of giving people a darn-near free ride to work? The VRE is a trap for the member communities and Spotsy BOS has been smart enough to stay away!!!
Does anyone know the facts with respect to this? I've heard it over and over but some have commented that it's not true - that any
locality can leave VRE whenever they want. So.. what are the facts here? This is one of those issues that affects a lot of folks opinions
but I've yet to see a definitive explanation of it and such an explanation is important IMHO.
Any solution will have to address the risks associated with joining VRE, and I'm not sure that's possible. The primary risk, of course, is a combination of (1) the inability of VRE to control costs while providing some acceptable level of service, and (2) the inability of anyone joining VRE to leave under any circumstances. If, for example, we had an option to leave VRE, or VRE costs could be capped at, say, 20% of the 2% tax revenue, then maybe more would support it. As is, the risk is simply too high.
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