What would it cost for North Texas to have mass transit? Not as much as you might think.

Star-Telegram | Walter J. Humann:

“Without transit financing, our region could become a patchwork of transit "haves" and "have-nots." We must free up the local sales tax cap. There is no other viable funding sources to permit non-transit member cities to develop transit.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Mr. Humann proposes exempting any local sales tax used to develop local mass transit from the current 2-cent local sales tax limit. The proposal neatly achieves two things. It empowers local communities to set their own tax rates. And it enables communities to fund mass transit without taking money away from economic development or other demands on that 2-cent local sales tax.

State officials would have cover from charges of raising taxes because taxing authority would be invested in local government, as it should be. And local voters would know exactly what their tax money is being dedicated to, as it should be. The result should be a more uniform approach to mass transit across North Texas, resulting in Mr. Humann's vision of "a first-class, integrated, regional transit system."