You guys need to pull the plug on any politician that won’t get rid of those toll roads. And then demand them gone.
You already pay gas taxes for highway upkeep. Tell your leaders that’s what you want the money spent on, rather than mass transit rabbit holes.
If mass transit is a good idea, then taxes on tickets to ride should pay to support the system. If they can’t raise money in this manner, then the mass transit isn’t viable. Do away with it. Better yet, don’t build it in the first place.
Most (but not all) of the toll roads in Texas were funded by the sale of bonds that are secured by future toll collections. Unless the state is willing to pay off the bonds, no politician is going to get rid of them.
The most recent toll roads in the D/FW area have, or are being built years (or even decades) earlier than they would have been built if we had to wait for TXDoT to dribble out the money.
And the best part is that the fees are being paid by the people that use them. Since electronic toll collection is now the standard method, it's no different than any other highway.
You already pay gas taxes for highway upkeep. Tell your leaders that’s what you want the money spent on, rather than mass transit rabbit holes.
Where I live, mass transit is funded by a addition to the sales tax. I'm not happy with it, but it's not the gas tax. However, I do wish they would quit adding HOV lanes that are usually empty except during the peak of rush hour. Ban trucks from the left lanes, but don't close them off to automobiles.