WE SUPPORT SANDAG’S NEW PLAN, JUST NOT ITS ROAD USAGE CHARGE
Today, our region’s leaders will vote on an exciting, bold update to the San Diego Association of Governments’ (SANDAG) Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). This forward-looking vision for our region helps move us toward a more expansive, sustainable and equitable transportation system for all San Diegans.
The RTP, which the state of California requires us to enact, will enhance our quality of life and maintain our region’s economic competitiveness as we move toward the second half of the 21st century. We have long supported this effort, as it aligns with our vision of providing our region more choices for how to get around.
However, one of the potential sources of funding that is suggested to help pay for the improvements is something we can’t support at this time: a regional road usage charge.
A road usage charge, sometimes called a vehicle mileage tax, represents one of the long-term options on the table for replacing the gas tax as our state and country move toward an electric vehicle future.
But the only way a road usage charge can accomplish its intended purpose is with feasible transportation alternatives that all San Diegans can access.
The road usage charge represents a little more than 8 percent of the $172 billion in revenue projections in the RTP. At this time, using the local road usage charge as a replacement for the gas tax is murky at best, with very few details available about how it would work or be applied in a fair way. And, while we understand the principles behind a road usage charge, our region has not done nearly enough to expand our public transit footprint to warrant its inclusion.
Residents in every corner of our region must have convenient transportation alternatives other than a car for a road usage charge to be effective in providing an incentive to choose an alternative to driving. It is our hope that the recently passed federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the looming passage of the Build Back Better Act and better-than-projected revenue at the state level provide us additional funding opportunities to help make up the difference.
The recent expansion of the Mid-Coast Trolley, which was delivered early and under budget, is an example of what we hope our region produces more of in the years ahead. We are completely committed to providing affordable, expansive public transit, and biking and walking options throughout the San Diego region. But until we do, we shouldn’t increase the financial burden on families and individuals struggling to make ends meet.
As mayoral candidates, we all ran campaigns focused on creating more homes that our residents can afford, developing real solutions to our region’s homelessness crisis and restoring our economies to make the San Diego region more affordable and livable for everyone. Implementing a regional road usage charge at this time would undermine these priorities. With working families still reeling from the economic impacts of the pandemic — and given that this charge is not necessary for this plan to be successful — we do not support the inclusion of a road usage charge as a means of financing the county’s transportation plan.
We will vote to adopt the RTP today. Failing to do so would cause SANDAG to slip out of compliance with state requirements and limit our competitiveness for state and federal grant funding. But right after we vote on this otherwise great plan, we will ask our fellow board members and SANDAG staff to immediately begin working to develop funding alternatives to the road usage charge.
The Regional Transportation Plan remains our strategic roadmap for making our region more equitable and transit-friendly, enhancing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, and helping us meet our climate action goals. Together, we can make the forward-looking investments outlined in this plan to greatly enhance our quality of life without hurting the working people who power our economy.
Right after we vote on this otherwise great plan, we will ask our fellow board members and SANDAG staff to immediately begin working to develop funding alternatives to the road usage charge.