Changing the Transportation Conversation in Central Puget Sound

Civic leaders and regional decision-makers in Washington State’s Central Puget Sound Region are changing the conversation about transportation funding, with the accent on bringing drivers back to the concept of paying for the services they use.

That was the message from Ben Bakkenta, program manager, strategic initiatives at the Puget Sound Regional Council, in his appearance at IBTTA’s 2016 Transportation Policy and Finance Summit earlier this month in Washington, DC.

“We need to manage the different ways people use the transportation system,” Bakkenta tells reporter Danielle Leigh of Seattle’s KING 5 News in this Facebook video. “Like utilities, like your phone bill, like your water rates, it’s paying for what you use in transportation.

Bakkenta notes that, “Once upon a time, the gas tax really was much more tied to actual use.” But with the rise of fuel-efficient, hybrid, and electric vehicles, “people really aren’t paying for their direct use of transportation services today.”

Congress, in order to fund the Highway Trust Fund has taken $140 billion dollars from the General Fund since 2008 to prop up the failing Highway Trust Fund.

Click here for the full series of presentations from IBTTA’s 2016 Transportation Policy and Finance Summit.