Brent P
Well Illinois has online data for 2002. Total Highway revenue for 2002 was 3,705 Million DOllars and was dervided as follows:
1,288 Million - Motor Vehicle Registration Fees ($0 for bikes) 1,252 Million - Gas Tax Revenue ($0 for bikes) 796 Million - Transfer from other Governments (mostly Federal Gas Tax Revenues transfered to the state 0- another $0 for bikes) 71 Million - Other (I suppose this is wherre the bike owners are chipping in) 2980 Million - bonds - (another $0 for bikes)
Onyt 2,272 million of this total was actually used for road construction. 616 million was transferred to loacalities for road construction and maintenance.
See above. They are online and suppport my contention that local proerty taxes are not paying for "your" roads.
You did not mention a particular city, so I looked at Chicago. Chicago does not use the general property tax to fund the Chicago Department of Transportation. This department is entirely funded by vehicle taxes and fuel taxes. Other vehicle related revenue (transfers from the Illinois state government, parking fees, vehicle fines, etc) are diverted to pay for other city services. So, if you live in Illinois in general, and Chicago specifically, revenue derived from motor vehicles are actually susbsidizing non-vehicle owners. So, bike riders are are being subsisdized by motor vehicle.
I treat cyclist with respect. I've never tried to squeeze any cylist out of a lane. I have gotten irriated when out of towners decend on the area of my farm for mbuttive bicycle events. Getting stuck behind 20 or 30 cycles on a crooked country roads with limited safe pbutting oppurtunities can be frustrating.
I think you owe considerably more than $0.75 if you are a "vehicular" bicylist. As shown above, motor vehicles are actually over paying for the building and maintianing of roads (at least in NC and Illinois). Bike riders that use the public roads are consuming a resource they are not fairly paying for. Based on your atbreastude ("If charged like a car...) it seems to me, given the current level of fees charged to bike riders, you need to keep off the roads. You are not curretnly being charged like a car, since you in fact, are not paying any fees for riding your bike on the roads. $0 = zero usuage (based on your logic).
I actually don't want to stop bikers from riding on the roads. And despite your lumping me in with the "bike haters," I scroupusosly respect the rights (unfunded rights) of cyclist to use the roads. If you truly follow the rules, then I salute you. We won't have any problems when we meet on the roads. I won't try to run you off the road and I'll follow you through the left turn lane. However, I'll still call it BS when you try to claim bike riders are paying their fair share for use of the roads.
Regards,
Ed White
