Now, that was an interesting comment by Gov. Linda Lingle after her visit with President Bush in Washington D.C.

The governor is in Washington for a meeting of the National Governor’s Association Winter meeting.

The conversation with Bush was wide-ranging, and one of the topics discussed was the dilemma faced by governors over the gradual decline of gasoline tax income as people move toward higher fuel efficient cars or alternative fuels, Lingle said. That means less money for new highways or repairing existing highways.

She pointed that several Mainland governors are now looking at more congesting pricing (charging more for use of roads during busy times) and tolls, Lingle said.

Now, we don’t know whether Lingle offered those thoughts in admiration or horror. That is, does she think such pricing is in the works for Hawaii?

If so, how would that impact the Honolulu’s soon-to-start mass transit system, which is going forward with the state’s blessing (in the form of a state-authorized transit excise tax)? The transit option is built on the idea that it will offer a viable alternative to commuters sick of traffic congestion.

Would a robust system of road pricing and tolls be the tipping point that drives legions of drivers on to the rail system? Or, might the pricing scheme smooth out congestion to the point where a transit alternative is no longer badly needed?

Who knows? What is certain that in politics, just about everything is connected to everything else in one way or another.

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