ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[ijmorlan]

Nor do motorists pay to use local streets, or in this backward country of ours, even superhighways.

This isn't true.  I won't get back into this debate, but couldn't quite let the comment go without pointing out its untruthfulness.

Not this again. I feel like I’m in bizarro world where something can be called “user pay” even though there is no tolling mechanism.

Until somebody points out to me the fee that motorists qua motorists pay to use roads, what I said is obviously true.

Income tax doesn’t count — that is paid by people who receive money.

Sales tax doesn’t count — that is paid by people who buy stuff.

Property tax doesn’t count — that is paid by people who own stuff.

Gas tax doesn’t count — that is paid by people who use gasoline. I will admit that there is a correlation between gasoline use and road use, but it’s not a direct connection, especially with increased diversity in vehicle propulsion technology, and in any case I’m not aware that the gas tax collects more than a small fraction of all the money required to build and maintain the road network.

Even car registration fees and the like don’t count — that is paid by people who maintain a car in a state to be used on the roads, regardless of how much they actually use it. It has to do with driveable vehicle count, rather than road use.

Of course, there is a significant correlation between the extent to which one pays under those categories and the extent to which one uses the roads, but in no case is the charge actually based on using the roads.

So, my statement stands. Basically, please try to understand what I am saying before dismissing it as untrue.

Unless I’m forgetting a fee or charge that is paid by motorists. Am I forgetting the fee that road users pay that funds the roads?