You are correct. However, when mileage improvements are made in vehicles the amount collected per mile goes down while the wear inflicted on the road remains roughly the same.
Not exactly the same, since the higher mpg vehicle is also usually somewhat lighter.
According to this site, 1976 F150s average 10 mpg, 2014 models average 16 mpg.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/f-150
That’s a huge difference in gas taxes collected.
Luckily, average national gas taxes have roughly remained the same per gallon over this period, adjusted for inflation. But with more miles traveled per gallon, that’s less taxes paid per mile.
The 1976 F150 owner pays about $5.00 in gas taxes per 100 miles driven, the 2014 model owner pays about $3.12.
There is also the issue of whether the inflation-adjusted cost per mile of maintaining the system is the same as in 1976. I have no idea whether it is or not.
Do you think the gasoline tax rate is unchanged since 1976? How many 1976 vehicles are still in regular use today?
How do you propose total miles versus miles driven in different states should be resolved?
The argument that increased fuel economy leads to lower revenues doesn't, in my mind, justify the intrusion into the lives of individuals necessitated by a per-mile tax. The simple solution to this is if revenues are falling in real terms:
1. Innovate to reduce the costs in real terms of building and maintaining roads. We often make the error of thinking in a static way about government costs for services. In competitive industries, companies are forced to become ever-more efficient, as consumers will only grudgingly pay higher prices.
2. Where innovation and competitive pressure fail to reduce the real cost of these products and services, raise the tax across the board to make up the required revenue. Of course, this has the added effect of making it marginally more worthwhile to buy a more efficient vehicle, thus increasing the overall efficiency of the vehicle fleet in the United States. On the whole, that's probably a good thing.
To me, the worst solution is to provide a mechanism that makes it easier for the government to collect more revenue more readily, with less transparency, and in a way that creates another government enforcement mechanism similar in concept to what is needed to collect the individual income tax.
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