[kattervon]

Additional property taxes on land near the stations would be a good source of revenue. It's likely that the adjoing land commands higher rents due to proximity to transit, and it's rational that some of this extra revenue goes towards maintaining the transit that is its source.

[potatolicious]

This may be counterproductive - now you're penalizing people for using the transit system. A lot of municipal transit systems are unprofitable because of low usage (but high service level commitments) - penalizing people for riding transit wouldn't solve this at all.

[rglovejoy]

No, that would only provide an incentive for people to live and work in places that are far from public transportation.

[tessro]

As a Boston resident, I would absolutely not live more than a 5-10 minute walk from the T. A levy might make sense!

On the flipside, I can tell you from experience that it is very much priced into home prices and rents already. So the property tax impact is already partially present.

[geeksam]

Interesting. Here in Portland (Oregon), we actually have the reverse policy: property tax exemptions for housing units within some arbitrary distance of a light-rail line. [Link: http://www.pdc.us/housing_services/programs/financial/transi... ]

Of course, that policy is probably aimed at encouraging higher density, not at improving our transit agency's bottom line... but it does also create a natural customer base for the light rail system.

[natrius]

A better way to do this is tax increment financing. The taxes on nearby properties will go up regardless because the value of the properties will increase. They shouldn't be charged a higher rate, but a portion of the increase in tax revenue should be put back into supporting transit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_increment_financing