Public hearings to focus on proposed toll increase

It's always getting more expensive to drive anywhere in this area. Public transit just doesn't cut it for lots of people, public transit doesn't work because the schedules suck, fares are too high, bus drivers too incompetent, and clientele too low-brow. Our roads don't work because they were poorly planned, and we always build crap that has to be repaired, torn down, reworked or modified rather than building it RIGHT the first time. Our freeways are dangerous because of the congestion, because of self centered drivers and their recklessness, and because the CHP doesn't have enough patrol cars and troopers to actually enforce the rules of the road.

A $1 bridge toll increase isn't going to fix any of that.

What is required is: 1) Taxes to pay for improvements and services, and 2) Bureaucratic unification of ALL transit systems in the area, including local busses, BART, ferries, freeways, bridges, and their accompanying toll/fare structures to form one cohesive organization, funded with taxpayer dollars, serving every member of our community, along with every visitor, tourist, and business that comes through our area.

First, it is OUTRAGEOUS that no public hearings are scheduled for Solano County, since Solano County residents are the most impacted by bridge tolls in the Bay Area.

The Carquinez & Martinez Bridges should be FREE. The tolls on those bridges are a direct hindrance to economic development in Solano County, which because of the tolls stands with Napa County in the North & East Bay as isolated from nearby cities like Concord, Wanut Creek, Hercules, Albany, Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville and on to the south by bridge tolls.

People are NOT going to trave to Vallejo or Benicia or Fairfield or American Canyon when they are faced with a $4 tax for doing so.

I will not drive from Vallejo to eat dinner at The Dead Duck restaurant because that restaurant sits on the south end of the Carquinez Bridge. That $4 tax is just not acceptable.

CalTrans must re-think this whole thing about bridge tolls. Perhaps they should collect revenue by some other means that will permit proper funding but can also benefit the taxpayers by eliminating tolls booths and the costs associated with all that. And THAT raises an important question--how much of the toll is devoted to paying for the toll-collecting administration?

Bay Area Transit Authority begins hearings on possible Bay Area bridge toll increases to $6 per car
http://www.examiner.com/x-27671-SF-Commuter-E...

"Three options will be considered at the three public hearings, according to BATA's Web page set up to provide information on the proposed fare increase. Options 1 and 2 would increase the standard fare from $4 to $5 with other proposed changes like increasing the fare amounts for carpool vehicles or for number of axles on each vehicle. Option 3 would keep the standard $4 weekday toll but increase it to $6 during peak hours and $5 on the weekends."

S.F. transportation costs lower than in suburbs
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi...

For the full report, including an interactive cost calculator for individual households, go to www.bayareaburden.org (see Vallejo comparison below)......


Household Size 2
Annual Household Income $35,128
Tenure Not Specified
Number of Workers 1

Commute to Workplace: 31 Min.

Number of Cars 2
Total Annual Miles Driven 12,323
Gas Price $2.41/gal
Miles per Gallon 25 mpg
Montly Parking and Tolls $0
Transit Cost per Month $22
Transit Trips per Day 0


Vallejo, CA 94590, USA Your Household

Annual Transportation Costs:$10,283
Annual Housing Costs:(For Mix of Owners and Renters)$14,196
Annual Housing and Transportation Costs:(70% of Inc.)$24,479

Transit Connectivity: Medium
Residential Household Density: High
Job Accessibility: Very Low
Average Block Size: Very Small

Vallejo, CA 94591, USA Your Household

Annual Transportation Costs:$18,194
Annual Housing Costs:(For Mix of Owners and Renters)$36,336
Annual Housing and Transportation Costs:(53% of Inc.)$54,530

Transit Connectivity: Low
Residential Household Density: Very Low
Job Accessibility: Very Low
Average Block Size: Very Large

as we have seen with the so-called repair of the Bay Bridge, money isn't the problem. Why do you think they have been working on the for 20 years since the earthquake that damaged the bridge in the first place?
Democrats have used the bridge repair money for every liberal cause that they can think of before they spent any on the bridge, this " IS " what liberals do. liberal and democrats waste your hard-earned tax money, they give it to acorn, seiu, welfare, illegals, and jet fuel for arnolds jet.
tell them not only no but heck no.

When you have a spending problem, no amount will ever be enough.

Hehehe! Hold onto your FastPass folks! They won't stop until you surrender your first born!

Try this for a change! STOP SPENDING LIKE A DEMOCRAT!