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Mineta Transportation Institute Releases Analysis of National Phone Survey About Transportation FundingJun 28, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- The Mineta Transportation Institute has released the final results and full analysis of a national phone survey about tax options for funding transportation. According to a release, results from the second year of the national survey was authored by Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Ph.D., and Hilary Nixon, Ph.D. The research reveals that support for higher gas taxes or a new mileage tax can be increased if certain conditions are met. According to the report, attitudes have not changed much since the first survey was conducted a year ago. Officials noted that research results show that 62 percent of respondents would support a gas tax increase of 10 cents per gallon to improve road maintenance. However, support levels dropped to 24 percent if the revenues were to be used more generally to maintain the transportation system. For tax options where the revenues were to be spent for undefined transportation purposes, support levels varied considerably by what kind of tax would be imposed, with a sales tax much more popular than either a gas tax increase or a new mileage tax. "We also found that the very low support levels for a one-time gas tax increase or a new mileage tax can be raised by modifying how the tax is structured and the way it is described," said Dr. Agrawal. "Dedicating the revenue to purposes popular with the public, spreading out the increase over several years, and providing information about how much the increase will cost drivers annually are all options for improving support levels." The Mineta Transportation Institute was established by Congress in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. Report Information: transweb.sjsu.edu/project/1031.html. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |