Can a Distance Based Tax Replace the Gas Tax?

Miles Not Gallons Could Be Key to Road Upkeep (The Idea Lobby, Oct. 6, 2010)

 

 

Also discussed here: Chapter 3. Vehicle-Miles Traveled (EIA Transportation)

Today’s review article looks at a more effective way of assessing road users for the cost of maintaining roads than by the existing gas tax which does not distinguish between the weight or distance traveled of these vehicles. More sophisticated than a gas tax but not as expensive as road tolls, a simple and routine monitoring of distance travelled is suggested, using modern uploading of the data at convenient locations.

Key Quotes:

“As we need less gas to get from point A to point B, less revenue is generated by the gas tax that paves the road between those two places.”

“the advancements we cheer in hybrid technology and electric batteries are going to make it increasingly difficult to fix things.”

“Tying the funding of our transportation system to a tax levied on a commodity, the consumption of which we’re trying to discourage, is probably not the best way to go,”

“The technology currently exists — and has been tested in some pilot programs — to upload your odometer reading at, for instance, a fixed location like a gas station”

“The fee could be adjusted for the weight of your vehicle (heavy trucks are, in a way, greater “users” of the highway system than are motorcycles), or according to the time of day you travel. Innovative toll systems that charge variable rates in off-peak and rush hours have been popular with many drivers..because they manage traffic in a way that gets everyone around more efficiently”

Related articles

• A Better Gas Tax (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)
• Proposal gives voters a say on gas-tax increase (mysanantonio.com)
• Proposal gives voters a say on gas-tax increase (mysanantonio.com)
• Belfer Center report calls for policymakers to begin taking steps to change policies for funding US transportation infrastructure (greencarcongress.com)
• Senate Finance chair offers gas tax idea (mysanantonio.com)
• Fikac: Proposal gives voters a say on gas-tax increase (chron.com)
• Things I Still Don't Understand (eschatonblog.com)
• Obama Highway Plan Fuels Talk of Gas Tax Hike (foxnews.com)