On
July 1, our state fuel tax will increase by 7¢ per gallon, and our annual
vehicle registration fees will increase as well. In total, the increases are
expected to raise nearly $95 million in additional transportation funding per
year. That “new” money will be used to help address a $262 million backlog,
statewide, in transportation maintenance.
I
like low gas prices as much as the next person, but I’ll be glad to see the
increase. While I understand that even small increases in fuel costs can be
tough, especially when budgets are tight, we all will reap the benefits. You
might even save some money!
Transportation
delays, caused by everything from a lack of maintenance to a lack of capacity
to a traffic wreck, have economic and social costs — to individuals, to
businesses, and to the community. A poorly maintained or inefficient
transportation system costs you time, and, quite literally, costs you money.
Time
you lose with your friends and family can’t be replaced. While it’s hard to put
a dollar value on missing your daughter’s first “at bat” in softball or your
son’s band concert, because you were stuck in traffic, you know you’ll never
get those moments back. They are truly priceless.
On
the other end of your commute, if you and your coworkers are chronically late
due to traffic, that can impact your employer’s bottom line, which can trickle
down and affect you. Lower profits can lead to fewer raises, less benefits, and
even layoffs.
We
all also pay for an inefficient transportation system in the goods we buy. If a
trucking company must reroute its trucks to avoid a weight restricted bridge or
plan for extra travel time to account for being stuck in traffic, they are going
to charge more to haul their goods. That cost eventually works its way to us –
the consumers. The more it costs to ship a loaf of bread from the bakery to the
store, the more we pay for it.
In
addition to costs of delay, we also all pay more to maintain our cars if we
drive on poorly maintained roads. Have you ever hit a big pothole and knew
immediately you just knocked your wheels out of alignment? That is a direct
cost to you of a poorly maintained road. According to a national transportation research group, the average motorist pays about $377 per year in additional vehicle operating
costs as a result of driving on bad roads. Tire wear, front end alignments, and
other maintenance costs are accelerated and compounded when roads fall into
disrepair. In addition, you also pay the cost of the fuel you burn when stuck
in traffic, going nowhere.
So,
while you will be paying more at the pump and when you register your car,
you’ll also have savings in other areas. Unfortunately, those savings aren’t as
easy to see. It’s hard to notice what you don’t
pay – the loaf of bread that didn’t cost more because of extra transportation
costs, the alignment you didn’t have to get because you didn’t hit that
pothole, the family event you weren’t late for.
As
you fill your tank for the first time after the tax increase in July, pause for
a moment to consider what those extra few cents are buying you.
Don’t let
the Treasure Valley fall through the cracks
