Infrastructure Bill: Collect Mileage Program

[abnorm]

https://www.thedrive.com/news/41865...-road-tax-test-that-will-track-drivers-travel

Interesting........Pa. wants $.08 a mile as a base !

 

[nature lover]

This is more BS, a tax on us that the politicians will not have to pay. Both sides of the aisle. When are they going to face the fact that electric cars burn fossil fuel. Cole is burnt to make much of our electricity. Electric vehicles are not a way to save the environment but a way to control the distance people travel. IMHO

 

[DLTooley]

At some point that will need to happen. Transportation funding is a huge subject and gets to the heart of the modern economy.

That big box retail development you built won’t do very well unless you’ve got a nearby freeway off ramp.

 

[bullfrog]

I guess I'll have to carry extra water for the person from the Revenue Department running alongside with one of those measurement wheels as most of my vehicles are too old to have any of that and it is impossible to read the odometer as the lens is to scratched up to even see if it works. Sort of like the old commercial trucks, if you made it there and back without getting stopped it didn't happen. Lol!! I imagine they will just grandfather older vehicles or have a flat fee. I would much rather pay $97 a year if I didn't have to pay the tax at the pump! I think my electric bike will see a lot more use!

 

[PeterPiper]

They will find a way, no matter how old the vehicle..   And if enough people dare resort to bicycles, get ready for a bicycle tax.

 

[bullfrog]

As the cartoon character used to say "He don't know me very well, do he!" Lol!!!

 

[vgilbert]

Interesting.... I have been paying the federal gas tax all my adult life and roads and bridges continue to decline all over the country. Paying the tax equates to ZERO improvements. 
My question is this: How does raising road tax equate to improvements in climate change?? Our tax dollars seem to only improve our military hardware but little else. 
Who knows what else is in that 2,000 plus page bill??? My guess is that most of Congress does not know the entirety.

 

[bullfrog]

Right now I 70 is closed in Colorado due to a mud slide from a burn scar. They are attempting to determine how much damage there is to the old interstate they had been doing "temporary fixes" to for years. Trucks and everyone else driving are having to detour 2 hours to get around it. Guess who will be paying for that! Those costs come directly out of working people's paychecks. It really doesn't seem to affect those that are flying in on their private jets to take out their million dollar houseboats here at Lake Powell as most are owned by corporations that don't pay much if any in taxes. Seems Congress has had a seeing/vision problem for many years! Lol!!!

 

[eDJ_]

If electric cars were to be kept in the inner cities that would make more sense.  But for them the traffic jams may occur at the recharging ports since there are no quick swap battery packs. (like on power tools)
I watch people at these Sheetz stations in these Tesla's sitting for around 40 minutes watching the gas cars refill and move on in about four minutes.  Particularly the mommies with unruly children who quickly become bored during the wait.

It would make sense to set up electric toll highways in the inner cities with inner belts, outer belts, and  north/south and east/west electric roads.  Perhaps by suspending wire mesh over the roads and mast on the cars, like the dodgem cars at the amusement parks,  we could wade into electric vehicles in a practical manner that could allow for more development of batteries and the vehicle producers produce their own battery packs to have available for quick swap.  (to replace gas stations)  Otherwise by declaring we'll go all electric by a certain time may put us back to where we were in the early seventies with pollution controls on cars.  (anyone remember that mess ?)

 

[bullfrog]

Air Products and Cummings have teamed up to start hydrogen fuel cell development and distribution of hydrogen for their fleet trucks which solves the battery problem and with Air Products being nation wide in major cities it won't be long before there is a distribution truck stop system in place. With hydrogen fuel cells water is the main emission I understand which is something we could sure use out west right now.

 

[Weight]

Well. It seems that all these "van dwellers" agree. We should have perfect roads but no-one should have to pay for them.

 

[PeterPiper]

????

Income Tax
Fuel Tax
Sales Tax
Property Tax
School Tax
Tolls
Fees

Yesterday I went to turn in a license plate on a vehicle I will not be using for some time.  Engine is out, rebuilding.   County reported me to State government, state government threatened to revoke my driver license.

I was charged $4.00.................. to turn in the plate
How many times should we pay for the roads....and still not get them?

 

[tx2sturgis]

This is really not new...VMT as it's called, (vehicle miles traveled) has been a 'talking point' for many years in the various state legislatures. 

The problem for the politicians is always: how do we do this without getting our ***** voted out of office?

And the author of the article is apparently not aware that interstate commercial trucks already pay fuel and state road taxes by the mile. The system is called IFTA and nearly every commercial truck that crosses state lines is subject to it. And it is typically much more than any private car, van or RV would pay.

 https://blog.expressifta.com/ifta-miles-explained-taxable-nontaxable-and-more/

In my opinion, electric vehicles need to pay their fare share of road taxes. The problem is...how do we implement this without violating the owners privacy? OK: Why not apply a federal excise tax to the vehicle battery? A certain amount of money per given amount of KWH capacity. Assed when the battery is sold to the car-maker, and then the fee is passed along to the buyer. 

Then, if and when, the battery is replaced, charge the tax again on that new battery, or charge a fee to dispose of the old one, or both. This tax or fee can then be parceled out to the various states depending on the number of EVs registered in each state. 

Seems fair to me.

I'm sure there will be someone, somewhere, who wont like this idea at all...maybe an EV buyer?

:dodgy:

 

[wayne49]

Nevada has been asking for an odometer reading when renewing annual registration.

 

[john*thomas]

Those who point out that roads do need to be paid for are correct. Those who point out that the money is largely poorly spent are also correct. Those who want nice roads and understand the need to pay for them need to start holding those accountable that poorly spend the money.

 

[nature lover]

We Pennsylvanians voted the other year to add a big percentage to our already Huge gas tax,that’s because we were promised it was for infrastructure and everything would improve and they wouldn’t have to raise the gas tax again for a long time. Most of us actually trusted them and voted for it, what fools we were.

 

[BelgianPup]

John*Thomas: Exactly HOW do we control politicians and bureaucrats? Many people would like to know.

 

[Cammalu]

Would help to vote

 

[BelgianPup]

"Would help to vote."

Have you ever asked people why they vote for particular people or bills? I have.

Some of the answers I've received:
* My family has been Democrat forever.
* He's good looking.
* Skin color or ethnic background.
* I don't know.
* He's from my town.
* She looks like she would be a good lay.
* I like his name.
* He's the same religion as me.

Have you ever listened to the Beatles' song "Taxman"? Harrison wrote it because the Beatles (the band that made the most money in history) paid over 90% of their income in taxes.

 

[travelaround]

Forest roads where I live deteriorate, but never get fixed. This is on US Forest Service land. I know of two nice recreational areas (one, a well-developed campground that I loved) that closed because the roads slid. But do you think they'd send a bulldozer in there to fix things up? No. They just close the road. Closing things seems to be their agenda these days. And there are some areas still accessible with the roughest, most dangerous deteriorated roads I've ever been on. No repairs. None.