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Pain at pump worth it?

May 11, 2008 2:06 am

By KELLY HANNON

Drivers may seethe about the sharp spike in gas prices, but some of the money they fork over means funding for local transportation projects in Stafford County and Fredericksburg.

The county and city get the money because they back the Virginia Railway Express. All localities that join the commuter train system levy a local 2 percent gas tax on purchases at the pumps.

Most of the tax subsidizes VRE service. Anything left over can be spent on local transportation projects.

Stafford raised more than $2.8 million from July to February this fiscal year, according to the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, which administers the tax.

That's nearly $500,000 more than the tax brought in during the same period last fiscal year.

The fiscal year is not over until July 1. February sales are the most recent figures available, said Christine Rodrigo, PRTC spokeswoman.

The average price for a gallon of unleaded gas in Virginia was $2.96 in February, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. This week, the average price had risen to $3.53 a gallon statewide.

There's little, if any, difference in gas prices among area stations with the local 2 percent levy and those in Spotsylvania, Caroline or King George county that don't have it.

But the increase in gas-tax revenue is not universal. The amount collected by Fredericksburg from the 2 percent gas tax at city stations has been nearly level.

Fredericksburg took in $963,850 from July to February, compared with $973,967 over those months in fiscal 2007.

Next year, Fredericksburg will contribute $482,764 to the train system. Stafford will pay $2.9 million.

Still, Stafford and Fredericksburg typically have funds left over after paying VRE. That is rare among member communities in Northern Virginia, said Mark Roeber, VRE's manager of government relations and public affairs.

"In Fairfax's case, they use their 2 percent gas tax monies almost exclusively on Metro, and they pay for our revenue straight out of the general fund," Roeber said. "In Prince William's case, they have not only us, but the OmniRide [commuter bus] system. That actually takes up the full amount for them."

Stafford and Fredericksburg have used the extra money to pay for large and small projects.

For example, Fredericksburg put recent revenue toward building a downtown parking deck and a new central bus depot for FREDericksburg Regional Transit. The money has spruced up the downtown train station, and paved U.S. 1 and other city roads.

In Stafford, the county is widening State Route 610 with proceeds from the 2 percent tax. It makes annual contributions to FREDericksburg Regional Transit and the Stafford Regional Airport Authority. The money helped to build the Centreport Parkway, and made improvements to public streets in several subdivisions.

Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde said projections show Stafford's gas-tax revenue will continue to pay for the VRE subsidy into the foreseeable future. He represents the county on VRE's operations board.

"There is no likelihood that the subsidy will ever exceed the money collected as gas tax, so it's always a question of what we do with the extra money and is there enough to go around for other projects," Milde said.

If it were up to him alone, he would spend any extra gas-tax money on road improvements. The Stafford Board of Supervisors decides how to spend leftover funds on transportation.

Fredericksburg Councilman Marvin Dixon said the city's revenue from the 2 percent gas tax is down slightly now, but the city could see an increase by July.

"Those things fluctuate month to month," said Dixon, Fredericksburg's VRE operations board member.

Dixon pointed out that subsidies may be higher next year, along with gas-tax revenues.

VRE's member subsidies increased this year, partially due to rising diesel fuel costs for the train service.

Then again, new riders could offset the higher cost of diesel fuel.

VRE logged an average daily ridership of 15,300 people in April, the highest level in five years, Roeber said.

In the future, mass transit's appeal is likely to increase.

"As prices approach $4 [per gallon of gas], people who are out in the exurbs, particularly, will start to examine how they're going to commute and what are they going to do to offset prices," Roeber said.

Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com