Posted on 10/04/2004 1:24:20 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
PHILADELPHIA - Paying your road taxes in the future might depend more on how much you drive than how much gasoline you pump.
Texas is among a group of states researching how to replace the fuel tax with a fee based on the number of miles traveled — making every road a virtual tollway. Transportation officials from across the world discussed the concept here at last month's annual meetings of the trade groups representing the highway and tollway industries.
Fees for miles traveled would be measured by Global Positioning System receivers embedded in vehicles. The system would track which roads a motorist uses so the virtual tolls could be distributed to the appropriate agency.
Each jurisdiction could set its own per-mile fee. Data would be downloaded from vehicles monthly for billing, or could be transmitted at service stations in lieu of the gas tax.
Jack Lettiere, New Jersey transportation commissioner, said most states are falling short of collecting enough gas-tax revenue to meet mobility needs and they desire a new funding mechanism.
"We're hoping this is a theory that can go into practice," Lettiere said at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials meeting. "It has a lot of useful benefits."
Researchers love the idea that driving taxes could be adjusted to promote or discourage certain actions. The system could charge more per mile during peak hours, for instance, or add a surcharge for heavy trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Those promoting a mileage-based approach to highway taxes contend driving should be metered and billed according to use.
"Why shouldn't transportation be seen as a utility like electricity, water, etc.?" Hal Worrall, a consultant for Transportation Innovations Inc., asked during a panel at the International Bridge, Tunnel and Toll Road Association conference. "It's perceived as free in America and thus produces a large demand."
David Forkenbrock, director of the University of Iowa Public Policy Center, has been working on a model for four years. His research is funded by 15 states, including Texas, and the Federal Highway Administration.
As more hybrid and alternative-power vehicles are built, Forkenbrock said, gas-tax collections will suffer.
"A tax at the point of purchase is inferior to user charges at the exact point of travel," he said, explaining the growth of toll roads in recent years.
Oregon has already tested a mileage-based charge. It starts a pilot project next year with 280 volunteer drivers in Eugene, who will be exempt from fuel taxes in exchange for paying their per-mile assessment.
713-362-6832
traffic@chron.com
Great...
Big brother monitoring everywhere you go in your car...
Lawyers and government will love that...
Land of the free...
At least once upon a time...
Yep. The chip is coming. And where do the records go? Who can have access to them?
NO, NO, NO Taxes! I will jam the signals, break the odometer, build my own car. These tax are highway robbery.
Sorry that's violation of federal law.
"break the odometer"
Damaging state property.
"build my own car"
Huge EPA/Kyoto no-no.
"These tax are highway robbery."
Welcome to the future!
I guess I could justify saying GET OFF MY ROAD!,
I strongly wonder how support for the tracking of the movement of individuals breaks down along party lines. It has such an Orwellian flavor that I don't see how it can even be supported politically, no matter if you are Democrat or Republican.
The article makes it seem as if this idea is being promoted solely by bureaucrats at the moment. The shadow government, so to speak.
Sick and Big Brotherish
More employment for brain dead bureaucrats and affirmative action hires. Wheeeeeeeee!
Why doesn't the government go and make sure that all the cargo ships are safe before entering US waters--that should keep them busy enough not to bother me for awhile.
I sure don't like this. None of my vehicles has a GPS module in it (all pre-1982). I really don't feel like needing a 'second mortgage' to buy a new one, especially when I don't trust computerized engines.
The government already has access to this information via cell phones. When someone changes cells, a computer logs it. The OnStar type systems built into cars are even worse. The government can get a court order to listen in as you drive.
Big Brother in your car - now the government nickels and dimes you for driving to the grocery store and the local mall. Sheesh, its a blatant attempt to force the peasants back into mass transit and riding bicycles. Which liberals love.
What a dumb idea. Why should people driving a fuel efficient car pay the same tax as a gas guzzler.
An uneccessarily convuluted scheme that only a dem. could love.
Cell phone manufacturers soon have to put locating features into phones under the guise of 911 service, via triangulation and other methods. GPS doesn't work in buildings or in big cities so it has limitations. It's possible to measure the phase angles of a cell phone signal to determine its location within a fraction of an inch. Governments, both foreign and domestic, couldn't have asked for a better personal tracking device.
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