Did You Know???

Whidbey Main Base Facilities Project Synopsis

ISLAND TRANSIT RETURN OF SALES TAX

TO ISLAND COUNTY OVER A 12-MONTH PERIOD

January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2011

During the Calendar year of 2011, the employee payroll take-home and the goods and services Island Transit purchased that were dumped directly into Island County via Island Transit was:

$7,397,211

(The above figure does not include vendors that Island Transit does business with from outside of Island County.)

The 2011 sales tax revenue for Island Transit was:

$6,698,183

For every one dollar an American taxpayer spends in support of public transportation, the economic return is at least 4 to 1, by creating jobs, congestion relief, business sales, health and safety cost savings, etc. In addition, by using local funds to leverage state and federal grant funds, we are able to bring more dollars back into the Island County economy.

For reference, log on to:

http://www.apta.com/research/info/online/documents/healthy_returns.pdf

QUICK FACTS

For every $1 an American taxpayer spends in support of public transportation, the economic return is at least 4 to 1, by creating jobs, congestion relief, business sales, health and safety cost savings.

There is no farebox at the door of a public library. The mission of the public library is to provide the means to books and education. After all, why put barriers in the way?

Total loss after 13 years with a fare system = $53, 439,368.

The first year cost due to charging a fare = $7,325,283.

Island Transit is funded by locally-approved retail sales and use tax of 9/10's of 1%. Island Transit services are pre-paid by locally approved sales taxes, and as such, boarding the bus is fare free, as the costs for riding the bus have been pre-paid by the dedicated locally approved sales tax which is paid by residents and visitors alike.

With a fare system the average time for persons boarding a bus is increased by 30 seconds for every rider boarding. This additional time, given the complexities of Island Transit’s service delivery area and service connections, would require additional buses on the road and operational costs just to make connections.

The Simpson-Curtin Formula Postulates a Fare Elasticity: for every 10% increase in fare, there is an associated 3.8% decrease in transit patronage.

The MISSION of Island Transit is to encourage and emphasizes rider use, increase mobility options, decrease traffic congestion and improve air quality for riders and non-riders alike.

The fare box imposes an unnecessary inconvenience which is detrimental to ridership, and therefore, contrary to the mission of Island Transit.

Collecting a fare for medium and small transit systems generates virtually no usable revenue for operations because of the costs associated with the collection of the fare.

Island Transit is funded by locally approved sales tax and NOT property tax.

As water runs off, it picks up pollutants such as oil, grease, heavy metals, dirt and dust. This runoff has emerged as one of the largest sources of pollution in Puget Sound, contributing to restricted shellfish harvesting, un-swimmable waterways, and dwindling fish and orca whale populations.

One to two million gallons of motor oil spill, drip, or run off from paved-over areas into the Puget Sound every year. Because pavement cannot soak up water, very polluted water from roads runs off into streams and wetlands, hurting fish and other wildlife dependent on waterways.

By 2000 the economic impact of car crashes in America had reached $230.6 billion a year - an average of $820 for every person living in the U.S.! The economic costs come from lost workplace and household productivity, property damage, medical costs and travel delay costs. (AAA Report)

Traffic jams cost U.S. businesses an estimated $40 billion each year and waste 2.2 billion gallons of fuel.

For every passenger mile traveled, public transportation uses about half the fuel of private automobiles, SUV’s and light trucks. Private vehicles emit about 95% more carbon monoxide, 92% more volatile organic compounds and about twice as much carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide for every passenger mile traveled.

The U.S. transportation system generates more carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than the entire economy of any country in the world except China’s.

In Washington, just between the years 1992 to 1997 we paved or otherwise developed 391,680 acres of land (65,280 acres per year). This would be an area as big as over 7 cities of Seattle.

In just the year 2000, 100 square miles of land was paved over or otherwise developed in the Pacific Northwest. This is equal to an area as big as 4.5 Manhattan Islands or over 2 cities the size of San Francisco.

If Americans used public transportation at the same rate as Europeans - for roughly 10% of their daily travel needs - the U.S. would reduce its dependence on imported oil by more than 40%, or nearly the amount of oil we import from Saudi Arabia each year.

For every dollar an American taxpayer spends in support of public transportation, the economic return is at least 4 to 1 creating jobs, congestion relief, business sales, health and safety cost savings, etc.

According to the EPA, every gallon of unleaded fuel saved, avoids 21 pounds of CO2 Emissions.

In 2011, Island Transit transported 1,340,516 riders, removing thousands of cars from our roadways and reducing tons of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG or CO2).

One full bus can eliminate 35 to 65 vehicles from our roadways, making your trip easier for you by reducing congestion and reducing your wait time if you use the ferries system.

People who ride the bus are taking cars off our roadways, reducing congestion and making your travel easier for you.

Everyone benefits from the bus, whether you ride the bus or not.

The bus can’t be convenient for everyone. So, we make it as convenient for as many people as we possibly can.

Why do other systems report making money from the farebox?

Is it politics? All transit systems want to be successful in the eyes of their public. If transit systems were to report the true costs of collecting a fare as compared to how much they actually collect, a totally different picture would be presented. Systems simply do not report all of the costs associated with the collection and administration of a fare system. They certainly show the amount of funds collected, but there is no gross and net comparison. The pre-paid, fare free approach truly is the most customer-friendly and the most efficient way to operate public transportation services for our size service, which has been proven in national studies more than once. King County Metro, with a $525 million dollar budget, does gain some funding from their farebox/smart card system because they have lots of businesses that pay for advertising on the sides of their buses in addition to a huge number of riders paying a fare when they board the bus. However, the costs associated with the fare collection process are not available. The National studies and summary recommendations clearly state that fare charging systems do not make senses for medium and small systems because the costs of charging the fare wouldn’t even begin to pay for the costs associated with the collection of the fare.