With fuel tax revenue shrinking as cars get more efficient, how should state and local governments pay for road and bridge maintenance?
Most road and bridge money comes from per-gallon fuel taxes, and it buys less every year as hybrids and EVs spread and even regular cars use less gas than they used to. i drive a hybrid myself and the fuel tax part of a fill-up is a couple bucks at most.
A few states have tried charging by the mile instead, and some lean on higher registration fees for electric cars, but nothing's really caught on. Per-mile charges also raise privacy questions since somebody has to track where you drive, and it isnt obvious people will accept that. So is the endgame just broader taxes and treating roads like any other public service, or is there a user-pays version that could actually replace the gas tax?
u/Few_Excuse_2110 — 9 days ago