They do...every time they buy a litre of gas or diesel. Where do you think those gas taxes are supposed to go?
Problem is, no surprise, with the provincial governments placing them into the general revenue stream.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Max
That said, public transit in the GTA has to get better, much better. But its austerity time; the Feds dont seem to be willing to commit much money to it for any of Canadas major cities, and Ontarios government isnt too terribly keen to invest in any long-term strategies (beyond the money already ear-marked for the LRT expansion moerover, federal power is shifting westward as well - the writing's on the wall. .
It's always been about money and always will be. That's why there's nothing done in the last 35 years. Always the same whining...no money, no money. Politicians don't like transportation issues because it costs too much and does not give them much of a return in votes. They may pave their section of some backroad in their riding to buy votes and that's about it.
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Why won't car drivers pay for their roads? That would solve everything. But nooooooooooo. They want others to pay for their ride, blah blah.
Jumping jetpacks, MF! You are one square peg.
They can and they should. The gas tax kps mentioned is a large part of that.
As should the riders of the transit systems.
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You nailed it, bruddah. Yes, governments are addicted to gas taxes and do indeed divert that money into the general revenue stream for all manner of things. Same with booze taxes. It's just a grab with no accountability.
If driver's gas purchases aren't covering the cost of repairing roads and planning for future transportation needs, then new ways of raising money have to be considered. Which, come to think of it, comes off as political suicide.
Location: Aylmer (Gatineau) across the river from Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kps
They do...every time they buy a litre of gas or diesel. Where do you think those gas taxes are supposed to go?
Problem is, no surprise, with the provincial governments placing them into the general revenue stream...
'Tis very true indeed.
Here in Quebec we even pay a "public transportion tax" (when we pay our vehicle registration) for the "privilege" of driving a car/vehicle regardless of whether or not it is a necessity to go work etc... it doesn't matter where you live i.e., how remote from public transit you are, if you drive a vehicle you pay the tax.
If driver's gas purchases aren't covering the cost of repairing roads and planning for future transportation needs, then new ways of raising money have to be considered. Which, come to think of it, comes off as political suicide.
LA managed to pull it off. Decided lack of transit was a problem, introduced a new sales tax to pay for transit, got people to vote for it, and then started 12 transit lines paid for by said tax.... all within 4 years I think it was?
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Location: Aylmer (Gatineau) across the river from Ottawa
Posts: 16,051
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonal
LA managed to pull it off. Decided lack of transit was a problem, introduced a new sales tax to pay for transit, got people to vote for it, and then started 12 transit lines paid for by said tax.... all within 4 years I think it was?
And that is effectively done in Quebec with the aforementioned public transportation tax but as kps mentioned, here it is diverted into general revenues and is in fact not necessarily used for the stated/intended purposes...
And that is effectively done in Quebec with the aforementioned public transportation tax but as kps mentioned, here it is diverted into general revenues and is in fact not necessarily used for the stated/intended purposes...
LA did actually use their transit tax to pay for transit, so future such initiative there will likely come with a high level of trust.
Given the history in Canada, I'm not sure that people would have the same trust, though some polls in Toronto show that a majority are willing to pay some kind of an extra tax if it goes directly to funding transit.
It's probably a smart thing for Toronto to do as a long-term strategy. Toronto can't expect that our transit system won't need capital investing in the future, and we can't rely on begging dollars from the Fed and the Province.
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Yup and commercial vehicles have, for years now, paid highway user taxes all based of registered Gross Vehicle Weight. More weight you haul, more you pay...supposedly to repair all that damage you cause to those inferior roads.
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