Submitted by Another PDOT employee on Fri, 05/09/2008 - 11:54am.
The gas tax might make sense as a piece of a larger package but it has very little correlation with the driver's impact on the system. Does a 73 Ford Grand Torino getting 8-10 mpg impact the system 5 times more than a 2008 Hybrid getting 50 mpg? It pays 5 times the gas tax. Don't argue weight: it probably only weighs twice as much and car weight is not the cause of wear and tear -it is the weight of trucks & busses as well as weather. The real money is not in asphalt alone: ROW purchase, cleaning, signs, signals, striping lights, planning, etc. all cost plenty and have nothing to do with vehicle weight. ODOT is researching alternatives like a VMT fee. As cars get more efficient revenues go down with a gas tax.
Gas Tax a lousy user fee
The gas tax might make sense as a piece of a larger package but it has very little correlation with the driver's impact on the system. Does a 73 Ford Grand Torino getting 8-10 mpg impact the system 5 times more than a 2008 Hybrid getting 50 mpg? It pays 5 times the gas tax. Don't argue weight: it probably only weighs twice as much and car weight is not the cause of wear and tear -it is the weight of trucks & busses as well as weather. The real money is not in asphalt alone: ROW purchase, cleaning, signs, signals, striping lights, planning, etc. all cost plenty and have nothing to do with vehicle weight. ODOT is researching alternatives like a VMT fee. As cars get more efficient revenues go down with a gas tax.