Go ahead and flame away - I have the asbestos suit on.
I could support toll roads on all or most major roads provided one thing happens - THE TAXES ON GASOLINE ARE ELIMINATED
For many years the the way governments raised funds for road and bridge maintenance was through gasoline taxes. This was as far as taxes go a good system in that people with large heavy vehicles paid more for road and bridge upkeep because their vehicles placed more stress on the roads and bridges.
As cars have become for fuel efficient there has been no corresponding reduction in the wear and tear they place on the road. Thus taxes on gasoline and diesel have risen substantially. (I am not arguing there isn’t a lot of waste in the system)
As hybrids and electric cars like those made by Tesla have become more common you have millions of drivers that are - essentially, tax cheats because they use the roads that are maintained by drivers using gasoline.
Often these people try to use a fake argument that that they produce less pollution so they deserve the tax brake which is a an apples to oranges comparison because the cost of road maintenance is independent of air quality and the roads and bridges deteriorate just as fast whether you drive a Prius or Mazda-2 with a gasoline engine.
Placing tolls on major roads and eliminating gasoline taxes is the only equitable and actually the only workable way I can see to rectify that problem short of charging everyone with a drivers licence, man, woman, teenager or senior citizen a road maintenance tax every year whether they drive or not.
Placing tolls on most major roads, not just newly built ones would also allow the tolls to be lowered because more people would be paying tolls.
As to it costing $600.00 a month, well; how much do you spend on gasoline taxes every year? I’d bet that there is at least 50 cents of tax on every gallon of gas so a 22 gallon fill up would be $11.00 in taxes every time you fill up. If you figure 2 tanks a week = $22.00 times 52 weeks a year and you get over $1100 a year in hidden tax. THis is money that no Tesla driver pays.
You can avoid a toll road but you can’t avoid the hidden gasoline tax if you have a gasoline engine and I am generally an opponant of any hidden tax.
All taxes should be obvious and open
“I could support toll roads on all or most major roads provided one thing happens - THE TAXES ON GASOLINE ARE ELIMINATED”
I was wondering when someone would bring that into the discussion. After what you suggest, the next logical step would be for cars to pay for miles driven using GPS. Leaving the intrusion of government tracking/privacy issues out of the argument, such a system has the most potential for being ‘fair’ regarding usage. There would have to be different cost ‘zones’ to account for areas that required more expense such as the difference between straight open highway vs. areas with curbs and traffic lights. As you mentioned, the system would also have to account for vehicle weight. Now having the technology, GPS and massive computers, such a system would have the best chance at being ‘fair’ for taxation for service provided. If you don’t drive, you don’t pay a cent. The more you drive, the more you pay for the road’s upkeep. That said, I really don’t like the idea of having every foot of vehicle travel I do being recorded. It’s along the lines of a cashless monetary system, but I fear both will eventually become the standard.