Against the call that property taxes cannot be increased, people are supporting increased taxation for transit.
A principle: Growth of cycling as a mode of transportation is stimulated with quality transit services. For people, cycling is an effective and appealing feeder mode to transit stops. For people, cycling extends trip distances and increases transit ridership when cyclists can take their bicycles on transit vehicles.
Politicians are telling us that the level of property tax has hit the pinnacle. Politicians are telling us that property tax cannot be increased. Maybe the public, the taxpayers of the property tax, are telling us something else?
In a number of municipalities in North America, residents are supporting initiatives for more taxation for transit if the taxation is linked directly to improvements in transit availability. With their pocketbooks they are supporting transit levies of various forms.
In a recently released document, again resident of a municipality are supporting greater availability of transit. This time, the question dealt with an increase in property taxes for that purpose. Only a small portion did not support any increase. Half of the respondents supported an increase of $25 to $75.
From the Transit Future Plan, Sunshine Coast, Draft Nov 2013
http://www.transitbc.com/transitfuture/sun_latestupdates.cfm
The Sunshine Coast Regional District is a region located on the northern side of Metro Vancouver with a population of 28,000 that swells in the summer months. The SCRD covers an area of 3.780 sq. km.
The message:
Majority of survey respondents were willing to support an increase in taxes to implement increased transit service on the Sunshine Coast.
From the study:
Survey – Willingness to Pay for Transit through Property Tax Increases
http://www.transitbc.com/transitfuture/sun_reports.cfm
Highlights from the report:
Vision
“Sunshine Coast Transit is an essential component of our sustainable community and a preferred method of travel. It enhances mobility by providing a convenient, reliable and affordable alternative to the car that is aligned with sustainable land use decisions and fully integrated with other transport options.”
RIDERSHIP TARGET
The Transit Future Plan sets a transit mode share target of 5.4 percent for all trips by 2038, which will require the Sunshine Coast transit ridership to grow from 0.5 to 1.8 million trips per year. This target aligns with the Provincial Transit Plan’s transit mode share target for regional centres in British Columbia.
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