DFW could fund commuter rail with 10 cent/gallon tax increase

Would fund commuter rail

Steve Hawley, May 08, 09.

The Dallas/Fort Worth region would need a gas tax increase of at least 10 cents in order to fund a proposed commuter rail project, as well as highway improvements, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Officials in the nine-county area are debating such an increase, pending passage of the local-option bill in the state legislature. The legislation, which would allow voters in many of the state’s most populous counties to fund transportation projects through local taxes and fees, passed the Senate in April and currently sits before the House Transportation Committee.

Despite the urging of the Harris and Fort Bend county governments and the Greater Houston Partnership, the local Senate delegation decided to exclude the Houston region from the bill. Some Texas lawmakers have proposed a similar bill that would include the entire state, but with less than a month to go in the legislative session, its prospects are unclear.

Officials in the Dallas/Fort Worth region estimate that a 10-cent per gallon tax increase would generate $370 million a year to develop a 200-mile commuter rail system and to improve the region’s highways. According to the Star-Telegram, “Supporters say the amount would fall short of the estimated $457 million a year needed to build the entire road and rail system but would still be workable.”

It notes, “Texas motorists pay a 20-cents-a-gallon statewide tax, which hasn’t increased since 1991, and an 18.4-cents-a- gallon federal tax, which hasn’t increased since 1993.”