How do we fund highways?

[Mr. Camper]

Maybe we could afford it if we didn't cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires. Of course that's just my opinion and I could be wrong.

[Barbaraok]

Gov.MoonBeem of Kalifornia just raised the gas tax by 43%.

 

Yes a 17¢ a gallon increase. And a $65/yr increase in registration fees. It is one of the ways that states raise money. Remember, more and more people in California are driving hybrid or total electric cars. People want highways fixed, want other services, it has to be paid for in some way. And people are moving to California because there are JOBS out there.

[Kirk W]

Gov.MoonBeem of Kalifornia just raised the gas tax by 43%.

How did she do that, by executive order, or did it pass the state legislature, as is done in most states? I suspect the latter.

From the Tax Foundation: The highest state gas tax is assessed in Pennsylvania, at 50.4 cents per gallon, withWashington State (44.5 cpg) and New York (42.64 cpg) following closely behind.Alaska drivers pay the lowest rate in the country at 12.25 cents per gallon. These figures do not include the 18.4 cpg federal gas tax.Mar 3, 2016

But as Barb points out, those who drive an electric car pay no gasoline taxes at all and those who drive a hybrid pay very little. The per gallon taxes tend to hit those of low income harder because they can't afford to buy hybrid or electric vehicles to travel to work in. I have a neighbor who recently bought a new, Lincoln hybrid complete with wifi that reports to his phone everything from mpg to location and even has white line following and automatic safety braking, for $40k+. He also gets an average of about 35 mpg over all, so he buys far less gas and so pays less in taxes than the single mother with a 10 year old clunker.

[Vladimir]

Electric cars will force the issue and movement to a per-mile charge for road maintenance.

 

One issue for RV'ers......NPS, FS, and BLM roads are NOT supported by gas tax dollars. So every time you drive on NPS, FS, or BLM roads that gas tax you paid goes to highways!!

 

That is one change I would like Congress to enact.

 

The refund of the gas taxes to the Federal agencies would really be helpful to the recreation programs on public lands. Currently, ONLY the gas burned by OHV is refunded for the National Trails Program administered by Federal Highways Administration. It fund a large portion of both motorized and non-motorized trails on both state and Federal lands.

[Ray,IN]

Indiana is considering raising the fuel tax rate also. Several methods are being considered, two are: raising the flat fuel tax by a percentage, a floating rate tax based on wholesale prices, and, all methods include a provision for non-fossil fuel vehicles-a flat fee for average driving miles per year nationwide.

None, IMO, are the best solution for interstate driving. I suggest the last presidents vision to make ALL interstates into toll roads/self-supporting was right; but somewhere along the way (about the beginning of his 2nd term) it faded into oblivion.

 

UPDATE:

Mexico raised gasoline prices by 20%.

"hitting poorer Mexicans especially hard."

[bruce t]

Per mile simply wont work. The local construction company has a huge low loader. On that low loader is a huge dozer. They travel at most 1000 miles per year. That combination will screw up any road due to weight and tire damage while turning. You also have the local pizza delivery guy. He drives 20000 miles per year delivering pizzas for small change. Now can someone please tell me how a per mile charge works out?

 

regards

[Vladimir]

Same as today. Per mile charge will be based on weight and size of vehicle. That is how the registration is paid in most states. Simple step to link the registration to the per mile data.

[Kirk W]

Now can someone please tell me how a per mile charge works out?

So how do you fund the highways in Australia?

[Dutch_12078]

I wonder if hybrids and electrics could be subject to a registration surcharge in lieu of the gas tax. At least until the numbers of them warrant a complete overhaul of highway maintenance funding methodology. Actually, I wonder if a relatively small registration surcharge on all vehicles might be a reasonable way to augment highway funding anyway, with hybrids/electrics paying a higher rate than gas/diesel guzzlers.

[bruce t]

Kirk Australia's highways are funded from the deep black hole that all government funds come from. Australia's funding is just as messed up as the USA. (The cities get a disproportionate share. As usual).

 

My point re any scheme, be it per miles or per gallons, is that it's a very complicated problem. Whatever is done there are going to be upset folks crying foul.

 

Just a side note about funds, roads and wasted money. How often have you driven on a new piece of 4 lane highway though 'nothing' with few vehicles? It's obvious that some highways are built to satisfy voters not vehicle owners. When someone can solve that problem you can theorizes about how to make users pay!

 

regards

[Barbaraok]

Bruce, that little used highway will soon be full of traffic as people figure out there is a better road nearby and will use it. It is amazing how quickly that will happen. There are lots of roads in Texas you swear are in the middle of no where, with no one to use them, and it doesn't take long before long-haul drivers find them, the word is out, and they are being heavily used. For a while little towns will experience an uptick in fuel purchases, small diners do well, etc. Then the road starts to break down and truckers find a new one to use.

 

Barb

[Ray,IN]

Talk about "little-used highways"? What about the bridge to nowhere in AK?

[chirakawa]

A lot of those highways in the middle of nowhere are used to bring food to my table. Thank goodness.

[Lou Schneider]

Talk about "little-used highways"? What about the bridge to nowhere in AK?

 

It would have connected Ketchican to it's airport, the second largest in Southeast Alaska ... not exactly nowhere.

 

The real "Bridge To Nowhere" is in California's San Gabriel Mtns. It was constructed in 1936 as part of a road through the San Gabriel River canyon to Wrightwood.

 

While the rest of the road was under construction, fast moving floodwaters in the steep canyon washed out the roadbed and several other bridges and the route was abandoned, leaving only hiking trails going to the bridge.

[Al F]

Only $400 MILLION to replace a ferry to the airport and 50 residents. Not exactly cost effective. It would have created a lot of jobs which would have disappeared as soon as the bridge was complete. I'm guessing most of the jobs would have been from people outside of Ketchican, not local folks. Info from Wikipedia

[kayakbob]

Fuel tax is the same as it was when gas was 30 cents per gallon . As unpopular as it is , maybe fuel tax should be a sales tax based on cost at pump . It seems silly to me that the price of fuel is based on gallons instead of price . I know it would cause all kinds of uproar but ,supposed your property tax were based on the value that was 30 or 40 years old ! Governments need revenue , as unpopular as that sounds .

Please do not kill the messenger , we have the lowest fuel tax of any civilized nation ! I myself would pay for better infrastructure .

PLEASE DO NOT BEAT ME UP TO MUCH!

[Ray,IN]

Fuel tax is the same as it was when gas was 30 cents per gallon . As unpopular as it is , maybe fuel tax should be a sales tax based on cost at pump . It seems silly to me that the price of fuel is based on gallons instead of price . I know it would cause all kinds of uproar but ,supposed your property tax were based on the value that was 30 or 40 years old ! Governments need revenue , as unpopular as that sounds .

Please do not kill the messenger , we have the lowest fuel tax of any civilized nation ! I myself would pay for better infrastructure .

PLEASE DO NOT BEAT ME UP TO MUCH!

I would dispute that claim. It was just on the TV news yesterday that fuel taxes were last raised in 1991. Last time gasoline was $.30/G was in the late 1950's.

[Kirk W]

At some point in time, we will be forced to find some new way to fund our highways.

Curve of average car mileage for model years between 1978-2014

[chirakawa]

Last time gasoline was $.30/G was in the late 1950's.

 

I would dispute that claim. I filled my car many times in the mid 60's with gasoline under $.20 per gallon. Of course, I lived within 20 miles of three of the largest refineries in the world.

[bruce t]

If all the global warming folks have their way we will all be on bicycles so no need to worry about fuel.

Or roads.

Electric cars that will replace today's cars are still many many years away.

 

There is no answer. Politicians will continue to kick the can down the road. Pun intended.

 

regards

[GeorgiaHybrid]

 

I would dispute that claim. I filled my car many times in the mid 60's with gasoline under $.20 per gallon. Of course, I lived within 20 miles of three of the largest refineries in the world.

 

Same here except working at dad's station, there is no telling how many gallons of gas we pumped with regular being .23, low lead at .25 and high test at .27 a gallon on gas war. Even at "full price" which we never were priced at, regular was 37, low lead at .39 and high test at .41. This was in the early 70's at a Texaco which was full service. We even checked under the hood and the pressure in your tires for that price.

[gjhunter01]

I remember in 1970 riding the school bus home, I seen a gas station at $.19/gal. When I told my dad about the price, he gathered all the gas cans he could find and drove to town to fill up.

We had good roads then.

The Government has a huge budget to work with and it all depends on spending priorities, (same as any personal budget). If rebuilding infrastructure ever becomes a priority, the $$ could be appropriated within the current budget. It seems the current budget priority is on military buildup.

Greg

[remoandiris]

I thought of this thread as I was driving around Orlando yesterday. Every highway except I-4 is a toll road.

[Ray,IN]

 

I would dispute that claim. I filled my car many times in the mid 60's with gasoline under $.20 per gallon. Of course, I lived within 20 miles of three of the largest refineries in the world.

Either way-wherever we live, a fuel tax "adjustment" was made long after that.

I apologize to the board, the last time federal fuel tax rate was raised was 1993, not 1991.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States

[Kirk W]

 

This information comes from Inflation Data.com, but there are several other sources which give nearly the exact same figures. Perhaps all we need is for the federal government and each state to do an inflation adjustment, if they have not already done so?