Is Orange County en route to new gas tax?

I am not interested in supporting the gas tax for a poorly run Lynx System. They need to trim staff, clean up and organize routes and eliminate needless routs where ridership is lower than acceptable returns. Until they run it as an efficiant business, why should we continue to bail it out?

Here's a new idea. How about Lynx riders pay the incresased cosrs?

Why don't they just live within thier budget like the rest of us. We all all cutting out stuff just to pay our ever increasing tax/gas/insurance/food burden.

Boy oh boy, they had billions for the venues, just nothing for the working folk who pay the bills.!!

Segal is the worst of the lot, what a lap dog for Devos this guy is.

It would be helpful to your readers to know what Lynks would have to charge to avoid taxpayer support.

What a bunch of left wing drivel. We need higher taxes to solve all our problems for us, blah, blah, blah.

Why not just raise fares until it covers the cost of operations. Why should I pay for someone else to ride?

Or spend less and cut my taxes so I can solve my own problems.

Well, actually, this is a great idea, even though I do not use Lynx. And, any person who owns a car and drives on public roads should just pay it and not complain.

What most people don't bother to learn (ignorance is bliss) is that the total gas tax does not pay for even 1/3 of road maintenance and construction. The rest comes from the general fund (sales tax in Florida).

Therefore 2/3 of what road you all use is paid for by everyone. Not really fair that you are all complaining about subsidizing someone else with a mere penny, when people who have no cars (like myself) are willing to subsidize you WITHOUT COMPLAINT!! Do a little research and quit being so ignorant.

Why hasn't a fare increase been mentioned? I guess taxes solve everything. You would think the 38 million of our tax dollars plus fares would be enough, but enough is never enough when it comes to sucking off the public teat.
RAISE THE FARES!!!

Its not a 1 cent tax, its a one cent per gallon tax. With gas prices the way they are and many struggling just to afford to get to work, and gas already taxed over 50 cents a gallon, this is an absurd plan. If Lynx isn't efficient enough to run itself without those that don't use it having to pay anyway, then CAN it.

Che wrote:

Well, actually, this is a great idea, even though I do not use Lynx. And, any person who owns a car and drives on public roads should just pay it and not complain.
What most people don't bother to learn (ignorance is bliss) is that the total gas tax does not pay for even 1/3 of road maintenance and construction. The rest comes from the general fund (sales tax in Florida).
Therefore 2/3 of what road you all use is paid for by everyone. Not really fair that you are all complaining about subsidizing someone else with a mere penny, when people who have no cars (like myself) are willing to subsidize you WITHOUT COMPLAINT!! Do a little research and quit being so ignorant.

The problem with your argument is that many of those who ride Lynx pay zero in taxes. In fact, many are recipients of some type of taxpayer funded welfare or assistance. Therefore, they pay neither for the roads or the Lynx bus that rides on them.

Let the corporations that employ many of these riders at minimum wage and reap the benefits of their employment pay to subsidize the system. After all, they are the ones really getting the benefits of the Lynx system.

Obviously the car is solution to everything. Must we pry the steering wheel from your cold dead hands?

How about thinking like a civilization instead of thinking like a bunch of individuals. Mass transit investments will yield more return to citizens than adding more lanes to our expressways.

Yet so many see it as a subsidy. What do you really think our oil industry, auto industry and road building industry are doing? Covering all of our transportation needs.

Sure, raise the fares. But the point is that you can provide transportation for 40 souls while only taking up the room and emitting the pollution of two vehicles. I guess Orlando is too rural to think like an actual metropolitan area.

Iso wrote:

Why hasn't a fare increase been mentioned? I guess taxes solve everything. You would think the 38 million of our tax dollars plus fares would be enough, but enough is never enough when it comes to sucking off the public teat.
RAISE THE FARES!!!

I agree if you use the system then pay for it. I have trouble covering my own fuel cost let alone helping Lynx pay for theirs.

In a time of gasoline prices already killing us and destroying our economy, now we learn that not only is the Federal Government going to raise their taxes on gasoline, but now the county wants to up its taxes on gasoline. I agree with the previous comment writers. Let the support of Lynx come from those who use Lynx. I never ride the bus and haven't been on one since I was a kid going to Jr. High at Howard decades ago I can recall though paying as little as 10 cents to ride as a youngster, taking the Winter Park bus that ran down Clay St. Simpler, happier times to be sure.

Redogg wrote:

<quoted text>
The problem with your argument is that many of those who ride Lynx pay zero in taxes. In fact, many are recipients of some type of taxpayer funded welfare or assistance. Therefore, they pay neither for the roads or the Lynx bus that rides on them.
Let the corporations that employ many of these riders at minimum wage and reap the benefits of their employment pay to subsidize the system. After all, they are the ones really getting the benefits of the Lynx system.

Good argument. Che logic is flawed

Let those who use the service pay for it. Taxpayers can't subsidize everyone's travel expenses. Commissioner Stewart needs to retire as she is out of touch with the taxpayers. She favors more taxes and increases in expenditures on nearly every government project (such as the new arena) and service. Most in the private sector have had to cut back while government seldom ever significantly reduce expenditures. Just tax more is the commissioner's creative solution. I wonder if she ever rides the buses?

These are the same commissioners that want to put a rail system in that it will not be able to pay for either.

When will it stop. They want to tax us for a 30 million shortfall when they spent $400,000,000 million on the arena/museum fiasco and gave $300,000,000 to Burnham to provide 300 jobs over 10 years. These people do not have a clue.

Anderson King wrote:

Obviously the car is solution to everything. Must we pry the steering wheel from your cold dead hands?
How about thinking like a civilization instead of thinking like a bunch of individuals. Mass transit investments will yield more return to citizens than adding more lanes to our expressways.
Yet so many see it as a subsidy. What do you really think our oil industry, auto industry and road building industry are doing? Covering all of our transportation needs.
Sure, raise the fares. But the point is that you can provide transportation for 40 souls while only taking up the room and emitting the pollution of two vehicles. I guess Orlando is too rural to think like an actual metropolitan area.

I think people would be more open to the idea if Lynx wasn't such a lousy service. Why should I trade in my 15-20 minute car ride to work in the morning for a 2 to 2.5 hour bus ride? Not to mention that the nearest bus stop is nearly two miles from my house along a very heavily traveled road. Maybe if they cut costs and their overbloated upper management salaries, then they could improve the service and more people would ride... Without having to raise the gas tax to yet again burden an already overburdened middle class.

Hope you all are still enjoying that $240 you saved from the Amend. 1. I mean, we all have so much extra cash to spend these days....what's another penny at the pump, right.

Duh wrote:

These are the same commissioners that want to put a rail system in that it will not be able to pay for either.
When will it stop. They want to tax us for a 30 million shortfall when they spent $400,000,000 million on the arena/museum fiasco and gave $300,000,000 to Burnham to provide 300 jobs over 10 years. These people do not have a clue.

Exactly, they will not remind you that they wasted Billions while they want to raise your taxes.

Wow, it's a good thing you don't live in Europe. You'd blow a gasket if you had to be be as socially conscious as they are. Good thing you live in greedy ol' USA.

Observer wrote:

Let those who use the service pay for it. Taxpayers can't subsidize everyone's travel expenses. Commissioner Stewart needs to retire as she is out of touch with the taxpayers. She favors more taxes and increases in expenditures on nearly every government project (such as the new arena) and service. Most in the private sector have had to cut back while government seldom ever significantly reduce expenditures. Just tax more is the commissioner's creative solution. I wonder if she ever rides the buses?

I would like to know how much is the average cost to transport a person a mile on the Lynx buss. Can anyone take the total Lynx budget for a year and divide by the number of riders and miles the buss travels to determine this. I bet the cost is much higher than $.25 per person per mile to ride the bus. You would be better off to buy all the poor people SUVs and give them free gas than support the Lynx!