For that logic to hold you would have to obstain completely from any taxable purchases within the DART transit regions. Otherwise your incorrect, a 1 cent per every dollar you spend within the DART taxable transit districts is also going to fund DART as well and need to be added to your fare calculations. Even if you do not use DART your paying that money as a tourist or resident.
So roughly average weekly spend for a business consultant visiting Dallas with hotel, food, and all related expenses lets put at say hypothetically $1800 a week, that amounts to approx $18 for DART per week…thats just living expenses as a visitor. If you live here add in clothing, car purchase, etc…you get the idea.
DART collects close to $500 million a year just with the sales tax.
The Regional Transportation Authority serves a six-county (Cook, Lake, Dupage, Will, Kane & McHenry Counties) service area defined by its enabling statute. After a budget crunch in 1983, a 1% sales tax and a gasoline tax were established within the service area as a prime revenue source. Three operating entities: Metra (suburban rail), Pace (suburban bus) and CTA (city bus and rapid transit) are funded from this source. Obviously, the money doesn’t go as far as needed.
Recruit? 1. The state legislatures would have to pass a law to authorize expansion of the RTA (the funding agency). 2. Metra and Pace would have to offer services in those counties. It’s doubtful any would want join except maybe Winnebago and/or DeKalb. Those are beyond where commuters live.
The revenue problem is that the sales tax for the RTA is still 1% almost 40 years later. Yes, the six-county area’s population has increased (2010 = 8.31 mil.; 1980 = 7.1 million or 17% over 30 years) but the mpg on vehicles is now much better and retail sales are fairly stagnant because of the growth of online merchandising (the 1% is largely not collected on those purchases).
Umm, NICTD and the rest of the people who ride the South Shore would disagree with that statement.
You could add 4 more trains a day and it would have a tiny effect on I65 traffic. “Four to five hour” delays are very rare, and would be caused by equipment failure, which can happen to any train. Also the Hoosier State leaves Indy at 0600, not 0445.
OK, well the point is that METRA has to fix it’s funding problem instead of running off to the state every so often otherwise it risks becomming another Amtrak or having an ongoing issue with deferred maintenence…very similar to the NEC which also has issues maintaining it’s infrastructure.
Any adjustments in the RTA’s tax rates would require action by the General Assembly. Needless to say, that sort of action would be difficult at best, especially trying to generate support from downstate legislators.
How much real estate does Metra own that could be developed to yield another revenue stream? Could a one dollar maintenance surcharge be added to every ticket sold to get more funds devoted only to maintenance?
I speak of the Riley route from the perspective of creating a Chicago-Indy service equal to the Hiawatha service and Chic-St.Louis service. Homewood isn’t far off I80/294 and Lebanon could draw northside Indy. It’s an idea.