ORLANDO, Fla. — According to a new study, drivers in central Florida aren't happy with the state of area roads, but they also aren't willing to pay more to build new roads.
MetroPlan Orlando recently finished a comprehensive study of drivers across central Florida, finding while most say transportation is very important (79 percent) almost the same percentage, 71 percent, said not enough is being done to address transportation problems.
"We've seen public opinion shift in the past couple of years," said Cynthia Lambert of MetroPlan, who pointed to the same survey from 2006 that found 60 percent of those asked said transportation was very important while 77 percent said not enough was being done.
Among the questions asked in the survey, drivers were asked about government funding, with 65 percent saying too little is spent on transportation. However, when asked about increasing funding, the vast majority, 78 percent, suggested adding a $2 rental car surcharge to pay for roads. Other options like gasoline tax (25 percent), property tax (19 percent) and raising tolls (34 percent), were less favorable.
"The rental car surcharge is consistently the No. 1 supported funding option," said Lambert. "The rental car surcharge would be one way to help visitors pay their share of using the transportation system."
But implementing a rental car surcharge would require action in Tallahassee. In 2006, then Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed a rental car surcharge that would have raised an estimated $130 million statewide, with central Florida poised to take in the majority of the money collected. Similar bills have been filed since 2006, however, none have won the approval of the Legislature.
The study also found a growing acceptance of public transportation, with 88 percent of those surveyed saying the area "needs a more balanced transportation system – including transit options like trains and more buses."
However, that feeling varied greatly across the three counties surveyed. In Osceola County, 79 percent of those who answered the survey said public transportation was the only way to deal with congestion, while the same question garnered only 62 percent support in Orange County and a distant 38 percent support in Seminole County.
MetroPlan has already presented the findings to its board, and said it will use the data collected as it addresses road problems and prepares its legislative issues for 2014.