THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512160004
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
To the surprise and gratification of mass-transit proponents, Virginia Beach has taken the lead in an effort to obtain a reliable funding source for public transportation in all of Hampton Roads.
By a 10-1 vote Tuesday, Virginia Beach City Council, never before a leader in supporting public transit, proposed a small motor-fuel tax to fund transit systems serving James City County, Hampton, Newport News and South Hampton Roads. The Virginia Beach proposal is patterned after a successful funding method that supports two Northern Virginia transit systems - a 2 percent gas-and-diesel tax for public transit.
General Assembly approval is required before a motor-fuel tax could be imposed to fund PENTRAN, serving the Peninsula; Tidewater Regional Transportation, serving South Hampton Roads; and the James City County transit system.
Specifically, the Virginia Beach Council forwarded a resolution to the Joint Subcommittee to Study Funding for Public Transportation in Hampton Roads, which the legislature created last winter. Other Hampton Roads localities would be wise to pass similar resolutions making clear that the region backs the funding method.
At present, transit systems go hat in hand to the cities they serve seeking funds every year. Under such a funding system, long-term, regional transit planning is impossible.
As the Virginia Beach resolution said, ``. . . Federal funding for public transportation has declined dramatically and is scheduled to be totally eliminated within the next two fiscal years. . . .'' With federal funds fading, the present funding system becomes all the more unworkable.
The proposed funding system is not entirely regional: Transit-tax dollars raised in a city would be used for transit expenditures in that city. But PENTRAN Executive Director Michael Townes said the restriction on where the money would be spent would not be an obstacle if each city collected enough for its needs, as he expected it would.
To diminish the pain of the new tax, property taxes (the current source for transit subsidies) would be decreased the first year by the amount that would have gone for mass transit - about $1.7 million next year in Virginia Beach.
Many details must be worked out. One is determining whether a 2 percent tax on motor fuels would be sufficient for regional transportation needs. The fact that the system has worked in the Fredericksburg region and in a populous region including Fairfax County and Alexandria suggests it would work here.
If reliable transit funding were established, the likelihood that PENTRAN and TRT would merge would greatly increase. For the first time, transit officials could plan to serve this region adequately.
``This could be a wonderful, regional effort,'' said Virginia Beach Council member Louisa M. Strayhorn, who also serves on the TRT board. ``Given the clean-air and traffic-congestion problems, we don't have a choice other than to think about transportation alternatives to cars.''
TRT Executive Director James C. Echols said, ``Having a stable and reliable funding source is critical to keeping transit services going.''
The legislative subcommittee for funding Hampton Roads public transit will hold a fact-finding session at 10 a.m. Tuesday at PENTRAN headquarters in Hampton. Public transportation needs and deserves public support.
For low-income people seeking to climb the economic ladder, public transit is crucial. For drivers, roads become clearer as public transit improves. Adequate public transportation might enable more families to make do with one car - at a considerable saving.
``In a few years,'' said Virginia Beach Vice Mayor W.D. Sessoms, ``if we don't have a dedicated source of funding, we won't have any public transportation, and I mean zero.'' by CNB