'Fee per ton mile' latest idea to combat declining gas tax revenues
 

Filed under: Legislation and Policy, USA

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For those who consider our current and projected transportation-infrastructure budget shortfall a weighty matter, consider a recent op-ed in The New York Times that casts the argument in just those terms. With transportation funding subsidized to the tune of about $41 billion since 2008 and the annual shortfall expected to reach almost $15 billion by 2015, the Times suggests a potential solution: imposing annual fees based on a combination of driving miles and vehicle weight.

The idea rests on the simple fact that heavier vehicles impose more road strain and cause more repair needs than lighter ones. The Times suggests that a fee structure could be set up so that the typical American driver pays about $50 a year for their ton-mile fees, a small amount that would eliminate the budget shortfall. Plug-in vehicles that currently pay little or no refueling taxes would have to pay their share, and a weight-based fee structure could help encourage people to drive smaller cars (any link between this writer's inability to poke holes in this plan and his ownership of a Mini is purely coincidental).

New ideas are needed because improving fleetwide fuel economy means less fees are collected per mile driven. Recently, a Democratic representative from Oregon proposed to the House that federal gas taxes be almost doubled to 33.4 cents per gallon of gasoline, up from 18.4. States tack on another 31.1 cents a gallon, on average, but that's proving to not be enough. Read the op-ed here for the full details.'Fee per ton mile' latest idea to combat declining gas tax revenues originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sun, 29 Dec 2013 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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