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Get on the bike,
Mike, the bus, Gus,
or the ferry, Mary

IT'S that time of year again, when the tilt of the Earth's axis still tempers the sun's rays to our part of the globe. As winter slowly trails off toward the fullness of spring, thoughts turn not to love or renewal or resurrection, but to taxes.

Federal and state governments sent out forms just after the holidays, as if to sober us up after seasonal silliness. Then Congress and the state Legislature begin the annual wrangling over our compulsory contributions, figuring the who, what, where, when and how much and the things the taking will be used for.

Talk about taxes at the state Capitol seems somewhat disjointed.

There are proposals to reduce income taxes for middle- and lower-income earners.

Various and assorted sundry businesses and industries -- from movie and television producers to racetrack owners, from ferryboat companies to dentists and farmers -- would like the state to cut them a break or give them credits.

Getting a lot of attention is the plan to authorize county governments to increase the state excise tax to pay for transportation improvements. The proposal is primarily a vehicle for the city to raise some bucks for a rail transit system.

Though all the counties have traffic problems, Honolulu approaches gridlock almost every day. Weekends are little different from the Monday-to-Friday grinds on the freeways and major thoroughfares like the Pali Highway. Traffic cramps even rural roads. It's not unusual to find cars stuttering along bumper to bumper with rental convertibles, produce trucks, military Humvees and heaving tour buses through Kaaawa, Waialua or Maili.

The tax plan has some people up in arms, especially those who do not expect that a rail transit system will do them any good. They complain that a transit line will run mostly through urban Honolulu and that those who live on the Windward side, North Shore, Central Oahu and the Waianae coast would be paying for something they couldn't use directly.

OK, that's true, but if urban drivers leave their cars at home -- and whether this really happens remains to be seen -- those from others parts of the island would encounter fewer Audis, Tauruses and 4-Runners on the parking lots we call our freeways.

While mass transit could reduce the number of cars whizzing here and there, it isn't a singular solution. Buses large and small, commuter ferries, carpools, contraflow lanes, dedicated bicycle routes, synchronized lights -- a slew of strategies will be required to work in tandem so that residents don't have to waste hours and hours getting to their jobs and schools and back home again.

Just as they attempt to use tax credits as an incentive for economic growth, state leaders could apply the same tactic to get people to drive less. Extend a credit to residents who take public transportation or who only use their cars on weekends. Give credits to businesses that arrange carpools for their workers or who have a high percentage of employees riding TheBus.

Award discounts to groups that buy large numbers of bus passes. Arrange supervised service before and after school with the Department of Education to get children to hop on the bus instead of into the thousands of minivans that pack the streets when classes are in session. Motivate state and city workers to do the same.

Taxes can also be used as disincentives. For example, households that have multiple vehicles -- there are actually some that have more cars than licensed family members -- could be charged higher registration fees.

People have a strange and strong connection to their cars. Cars give people identity, defining their economic status, their taste (or lack thereof), their personalities. You are what you drive, and giving up that selfhood, along with the independence cars provide, will be hard. But something's got to give.

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