And how would such a fee be measured and collected? How much government do you want involved with your day to day affairs?
Driving more miles uses more gasoline. Vehicles that weigh more, tend to use more gasoline. The current method is reasonably effective at those goals.
The biggest problem I have with dedicated road taxes is that they are not dedicated to be spent on roads. My gasoline consumption should not pay for pedestrian parks and bike paths.
My gasoline consumption should not pay for pedestrian parks and bike paths.
...or worse, high speed rail, inner city rail, mass transit, or any other use that can’t pay for itself, and mostly aimed at large cities and concentrations of population rather than the agricultural areas with large and extensive amounts of roads that bring food to market but have low population numbers that do not generate cash enough to support such a road network.
Without the misuse of fuel taxes, there would be sufficient revenue to support necessary road maintenance and construction, but so far congressional priorities have not been supportive of the needs of the nation as a whole but more for feel good projects unrelated to necessity.
I noted there are legitimate issues with the method.
We are, however, or were until the recent price drop for gas, moving towards more alternative fuel vehicles. At present an electric vehicle pays zero towards road system maintenance.
That’s not a big deal when they’re one vehicle in 500. It is a big deal when it’s one in 5.
Also, as vehicles become more energy efficient, the ratio between gas taxes collected and miles traveled drops, resulting in underfunding of the system.
Don’t entirely agree with you on the bike paths part. Some reasons:
To the extent a bike path is used for commuting, which I’ve done myself, it reduces wear and tear on the roads.
Cyclists also drive cars, in most cases, so it’s not like they don’t contribute to the system.
The cost per mile of a bike path and its maintenance is miniscule compared to a road. To the extent the bike path gets cyclists off the roads it operates in the best interests of both motorists and cyclists.