Hybrids & Electric Cars May Spell Doom For America's Roads
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Yesterday, we discussed the problem of America's crumbling roads and bridges. Taxes on gasoline are meant to keep that stuff up to snuff, but the costs of maintenance and upgrades are outpacing revenue. The reason? The federal gas tax hasn't risen since 1993.
The Wall Street Journal recently examined several ways to boost funding for America's infrastructure, and we briefly discussed the pros and cons of each. But what neither we nor the WSJ explored in depth was the effect of hybrid and electric vehicles on the gas tax -- and, ultimately, road maintenance.
Here's the problem: the distance that we drive each year has been growing. Last year, Americans traveled roughly 3 trillion miles, or about 16,000 round-trip drives to the sun.
An increasing number of the cars on our roads are fuel-efficient hybrids, and fully electric vehicles will soon become commonplace, too. Even conventional vehicles will see fuel economy rise dramatically over the next 13 years. Even if the number of cars on U.S. roads continues to climb (which isn't a sure bet), fuel consumption may not ramp up at the same pace.
So, if gas consumption stagnates -- or worse, falls -- gas-tax revenue does, too. Which means that our highways and byways might soon be disintegrating exponentially faster than they are today.
Solutions
We could play the role of Doubting Thomas, insisting that conventional gas and diesel vehicles will remain dominant for the forseeable future. If that's the case, some kind of restructured gas tax, like one pegged to the inflation rate, might buy us a bit of time.
But whether it happens in 18 years or 80, one day, motorists' consumption of fossil fuels will decrease and eventually dry up.
What the heck do we do then?
Assuming that sci-fi wonders like plasma-powered cars are still centuries away and that room-temperature superconductors are on the same schedule, we need to deal with the fact that we'll be moving around in wheeled vehicles -- autonomous vehicles, perhaps, but wheeled vehicles all the same.
If that's the case, there are at least two ways to address the problem of wear and tear on our roads:
1. Charge drivers (and passengers, too) for the miles they travel. This would be much like today's system of toll roads -- or perhaps, more like train ticketing systems. While this plan seems fair, it would require a great deal of government oversight, including monitoring of every individual's movement. Privacy advocates would likely pitch a fit, much as they do today.
2. Tax cars, not fuel. This puts the burden on car owners, which admittedly seems fair. The downside is that it's technically a tax increase, which is likely to be politically unpopular (though perhaps not as unpopular as option #1).
Surely there are other ways to fund maintenance of America's infrastructure. Do you have any out-of-the-box suggestions? Feel free to share them in the comments below.
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The fact is that hybrid and electric vehicles account for about 3% of vehicle sales (and less if you are looking at all the cars on the road), or a rounding error in the calc. And yet, we have a huge deficit in the highway funding. So it is clear that the problem is not hybrid and electric cars.
The problem is simply a taxing method that is a rated per gallon not per dollar spent and hence has not kept up with inflation. Fixed the tax formula and fix the problem.
As for EVs, when they reach 2% of sales, tax them per mile per pound of vehicle weight based on annual safety inspection records. The states already have this data.
Hmmm, maybe plug-in vehicles need an EV electric mile odometer for tax purposes.
Toll roads revenues are often abused to use on other thing. No different than the current gas tax.
Well, the tax system was designed in the last century for the cars from the last century. If we are ready for the next generation of technology, then we should adopt accordingly (just like internet impact on commerce).
I think a combination of taxing on miles driven and vehicle weight is the correct way to approach this. Different vehicles will put different kind of wear and tear on the road. So, taxing by weight should be one factor. Then taxing by miles should be the other factor.
Golden Gate Bridge in SF bay area is a great example how they are spending the money wrong. The bridge has been paid for long time ago. Yet. The bridge toll are being diverted to pay for money losing operation of the Ferry and Buses system, plus the 6 figure salary of the commission staff. The bridge retrofitting and maintainence only cost a fraction of the revenue that bridge toll brings in...
Also, there are lots of "shortsight" projects in our highway construction and maintainence. "Get it done for now" for less instead of "get it done right for decades" for a little more has been the motto of most of our hwy system.
Another issue is that major interstates have been used by local communities as their daily commuting roadway so the local and state government have been "leveraging" the national resources for local uses...
Simple fix. Raise the gas tax. That will get things back on track. It obviously needs to be adjusted as time goes on. I would guess that raw materials cost more than they did in 1993. Alot more. Probably more than the price of gas has risen (it actually has not risen much over that time period).
Raise the gas tax to cover these extra costs and that will take care of most of the problem. Or add an extra fee on vehicle purchases to increase that revenue. Charge by the ton (heavier cars wear out the roads faster).
Not only does raising the gas tax help fund road maintenance, it's a far better way to encourage the switch to fuel efficient cars giving money to the green company the governments guesses will be a success. That approach is dumb. Not only is it hard to pick, but choosing one decreases the chance of other succeeding because no private funder wants to back a company that competes with a government backed company.
Also a higher rate should be charged for heavier vehicles.
Its is also very apparent that truck lanes are in the poorest condition due to the pounding from the trucks, a prime example Altamont pass highway 580.
Current gas taxes are a mix of federal, state & local fees (which are virtual hidden in gallons). Even a % of federial $ goes to state funds. Current system is an outdated one from 1940's. This is an interesting question, particularly with regards to interstate commerce & road taxes!
Toll systems tend to penalize travelers with higher fees due to a number of different systems. Any metered system is sure to be controversial, as it could open concerns of privacy (tracking speed & recording a drivers location).
Any new system needs to encompass all levels from interstate to local; private & commercial vehicles. One positive of the current system of taxes; it doesn't require much thinking to go anywhere.
Road damage scales by the fourth power of a vehicle's axle loading. That's a huge, gargantuan factor.
As a result, the road wear caused by high-mileage vehicles of all types is negligible compared to the road damage caused by heavy trucks.
He Ave trucks need to pick up more of their share of road maintenance costs. That's the real issue - not electric vehicles!
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http://arch.designcommunity.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=36392
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