Funding roads (taxes, user fees etc)

[Viewfromthe42]

Drivers fund our local roads to around 0% or so. I cannot opt out of contributing to our local roads by not using them.

The first sentence is a lie.  Drivers fund a large percentage of our local roads.  

The second sentence is true.

User pay means there is a direct link between a payment and a usage. Ontarians all fund OHIP, but by and large our health care is not user pay, because it is, largely, free. Paying for gas regardless of how fuel-efficient your vehicle is, what types of roads you use, how much wear you cause on them, let alone talking about general taxes going towards roads, is a false narrative. People who drive tend to buy fuel (hello, Tesla), which has a fuel tax, but in no way is there any connection to their usage of the gas (boats, lawnmowers, actual car usage), the roads used, or where the money goes. Until you either put tolls in place or GPS systems in place, people who drive may pay money they *think* is a usage fee, but has no real connection.

Cyclists pay zero user fees, as do pedestrians. Transit users explicitly pay a toll: pay $X for 90 minutes/1 day/1 month of usage. That's a direct user fee, and the only transportation method in the region that has one.