Road Tax Persuasive Essay

Traffic in downtown Austin, Texas is becoming a sever issue and is continuing to become slower and more congested every day. Austin ranks 4th on a list of U.S. cities with the least efficient roadways, and with its remarkable growth rate, the issue can only get worse. After reading numerous articles based on opinions and statements from local city planners and engineers, the best way to see an improvement in the traffic issue is to increase the amount of public transportation in the Austin area. The increase of public transportation would provide fast travel time and would help reduce the amount of money, commuters and locals use on gas by a substantial amount per year. Though many may argue the that we have enough public transportation already, reducing the number of personal vehicles on the road would decrease the amount of bumper to bumper traffic experienced on a daily basis, as well as increase the options for those commuting to the city every day. there are many possible solutions, such as widening the highways or even building them underground, these solutions however are not the most economically correct and productive way to relieve traffic downtown.

     Perry’s answer is to shift the traffic away from metropolitan areas. If truck drivers can bypass San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, the time to their destination would probably save them an entire day in travel. Freight rail services could veer away from San Antonio’s railroad yard, an institution bustling with activity in the wee hours of the morning. Also, commuter rail can solve environmental problems and help families keep in touch anywhere in the state without the over-burdening costs of driving (Perry).

In America we currently have tax placed on our gas. However, with new changes in the automotive industry, there have been ideas of changing the tax to a tax based on miles travelled rather than gas. Mr. Earl Blumenauer and Mr. Phil Byrd both expressed their strong views on the topic in a pro versus con argumentative article. Blumenauer and Byrd both built up their credibility by using strong sources, including facts and statistics, and appealing to the readers’ emotions; however towards the end of the article both sides had a slight flaw which weakened their credibility.

Since the 1940s, motorization has increased rapidly around the world, particularly private vehicles. The trend has created both economic and individual benefits. The development resulted in the prosperity of the metropolis, while regional areas declined steeply in scale. In Japan, the least number of vehicles per household by prefecture was Tokyo with 0.497(Automobile Inspection Association, 2009). Nevertheless, there are chronic enormous traffic jams in Tokyo. Congestion charging systems have been considered because many suburbanites have gathered to work, study and make a purchase in the city. As a result of the consideration, the new systems have been practised in many cities, such as Oslo,

Estimates vary one study from California reported that the individual value of time for a commute to work is between “50-90 percent of the average wage rate”. Local economic dynamics play a role in the equation. A study on the HOT Lanes in Texas determined that Katy Freeway traveler’s value of time was approximately “42% of their equivalent hourly wage”. It demonstrates the fact that the more one values their time, the more likely they are to use the toll

“Our generation grew up knowing all about the effects on the environment that cars can have, so we’ve grown up with an attitude of wanting to do our part for the earth – something that we can easily do with public transit and not with cars.” (Millennials and Mobility. p34) The role of public transportation from being a social service provided to persons who have limited transportation options to being the transportation mode of choice. With this come high expectation that public transportation will transform to meet the lifestyle needs of the riding public including access to information and options. “We are well-connected when it comes to searching and finding information we need to plan our transportation ahead of time.” (Millennials and Mobility.

Nowadays, driving has become a part of our lives and culture. However, this culture has also caused us a lot of problems such as traffic congestion, oil consumption, and pollution. For some people, they need cars because it is a personal transportation, and public transportation is not convenient enough. Although my friends and roommates live so close to the school, they love to drive to school because they do not believe the bus schedule. In the artlice “Drowsy Driving – Stay Alert, Arrive Alive”(drowsydriving.org) shows that 71% of adults in America drive a car to and from work, which means a lot of people cannot live without cars now.

Public transportation outweighs the burden of car expenses. People that use public transportation usually pay a small amount of money to buy a ticket to get to their destination. This is cheaper than paying for gas or a taxi ride. With that being said, The President of the Institute of Transportation Engineers recalls that “many people in these communities cannot afford cars.” (1). Meaning, that rural communities and other communities with fewer resources cannot rely on public transportation. Therefore, this is why it is important that other forms of transportation are accessible to people other than walking or biking.

Another method for improving transportation at UTSA is to offer a ridesharing service such as carpool matching. This method has been successful at Stanford University by giving numerous benefits to the driver and the passengers. The idea is to match drivers and passengers with similar schedules and location. According to Stanford University’s transportation services, students can register with “Stanford Ridematching Service to find potential Stanford carpool partners” (Carpools). Once the carpool group has been established, the cost of the parking permit is split evenly between the members. As a way to encourage members to not leave the group, “at the end of each quarter, each member will receive a Carpool Credit payment” (Carpools). As a result, if the members stay in the group for the whole duration then the parking permit is essentially free. Furthermore, members of this program receive “reserved carpool-only parking

Many of the biggest cities in the United States revolve around public transportation. New York, Chicago, and Boston have huge public transit systems. The people that live in these cities rely heavily on the subway to get from point A to point B. Yet one of the biggest and most well-known cities in America is not on that list. Los Angeles has a landscape that revolves around the automobile. This humungous city has an auto culture like no other. There are many signs that point to the dominance of the automobile in L.A. There are six-lane freeways that go on for what seems like forever. Rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft are a click away. These signs have shaped the citizens of Los Angeles into people who are more relaxed, love freedom, and are associated with a high social class.

Congestion pricing is a particular type of road pricing where variable fees are charged with an explicit purpose to reduce congestion (Litman, 2007). It is a method of harnessing the power of the market to reduce the waste associated with traffic congestion and it uses market forces to allocate limited facility capacity among users by their need to travel and their willingness to pay (TCRP, 2003). Congestion pricing is also known as congestion charging, value pricing, variable road pricing, or pricing peak-period pricing. Congestion pricing works by shifting purely discretionary rush hour highway travel to other transportation modes or to off-peak periods. Congestion can be reduced by the concept involves charging more for the right to use

In New York City, the subway system has played an integral role in taking New Yorkers across the city in minutes. With high-speed metallic trains barreling through tubes and tunnels, approximately 8 million New Yorkers ride the subway everyday and rely on it to get to where they need; whether it be work, school, or meeting with others. However in recent events the fare to ride the trains or buses have skyrocketed from the five cents in 1904 to two dollars and seventy-five cents in this day and age. While this of course correlates to inflation, it proves to be yet another annoyance to New Yorkers who had already paid two dollars and fifty cents before in 2015. While this improves quality of subway travel, trains, and employee service and numbers; it is also more money out of the pockets of many already financially unstable New Yorkers.

It was also found that fuel consumption and emissions were 20-45% higher during rush hour traffic than in steady traffic conditions. Stopped traffic, especially during commute times, is not only a frustration to drivers, but to business and corporations as well. Each year, traffic tie-ups are estimated to result in 1.2 billion hours of lost time, with productivity loss equal to approximately $30 billion in the United States alone. On top of that, an estimated 2.2 billion gallons of gasoline are also lost. One way that rush hour traffic can be reduced is through car pooling, or car sharing. An initiative in Portland called “Car Sharing Portland” (CSP) has been shown as one way to effectively reduce road traffic. Car sharing is when a group of individuals or businesses share their cars with other members, who primarily use these vehicles for short, local trips. As a result of CSP, 26% of members sold their own personal cars, and 53% were able to avoid purchasing their own vehicle. This is only one of many innovative solutions that have been shown to be effective in reducing traffic congestion and unnecessary motor vehicle ownership. When the true costs of commercial vehicles are considered, it is easy to find solutions that can be beneficial both for you, and the environment.

Public Transportation: There are many substitute products or services to buying an automobile, such as walking or riding a bike, but luckily for the auto industry though, many don’t want their suit trousers getting caught in a bike chain, or wish to show up to work drenched in sweat after a ten mile morning journey. However, automakers should be extremely concerned with the growing rate of public transportation usage in the U.S. Public transportation serves as a viable and cheaper substitute to buying an automobile. According to the New York Times, there is a directly relation between gas prices and the usage of public transportation as seen in 2008 when gas rose to an average of $4 and $5 causing passenger trips taken on public transit systems to rise to about 10.59 billion (Hurdle). Furthermore, the cost of

With the American economy slowly on the rise, TEA-21 provides regulations to further stimulate the economy by implementing low-cost transportation methods that are dependable. According to the Department of Transportation (1998). TEA-21 “…supports trade and security” at the nation’s borders, “efficient transportation” and provides “support” for “university-level education and research programs” at university transportation centers. TEA-21 is monumental in improving various aspects of the transportation process and systems to make transportation more efficient and resourceful, which is analogous with my vision of the regulation.