Tax increase would aid all

Re “MTA takes first step in getting tax hike on ballot,” June 27

It’s hard to believe that the people of Los Angeles would not be in favor of granting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority a half-cent sales-tax increase to improve rapid transit and infrastructure.

As a downtown L.A. worker and resident, I hear more people say that the long commute plus the high cost of gas is pushing them to the brink of moving closer to work. In the near term, there is no relief from gas prices. In the long term, the relief might be less driving, alternative fuels, more public transportation and living closer to work. If downtown is L.A.’s employment hub, it would make sense for it to become the transportation hub too.

If work and home become adjacent, then transportation will be more discretional. If gas is going to $10 a gallon as in other parts of the world, the sooner we fund rapid transit and move closer to work, the sooner we will stop talking about pain at the pump.

Mark Kaplan

Los Angeles