In the age of electric cars, who pays for highways?

[marmar]

from Grist:



In the age of electric cars, who pays for highways?
by Todd Woody

7 May 2010 1:26 PM


Here's a conundrum as the electric car future arrives: Once we all start hitting the highway in our Nissan Leafs, Chevy Volts and Think City's, who's going to pay for our roads?

State and federal excise taxes on every gallon of gasoline sold in the United States currently finance a big chunk of road construction and pothole fixing, as Allan Schurr, an IBM executive, pointed out to me Tuesday when we sat down for some green car chat in San Francisco.

It's one of the many consequences of constructing an electron-fueled alternative to the century-old transportation infrastructure that grew up around the internal combustion engine.

"I really believe that the complexity of electric mobility on the electric utility system is pretty unappreciated," says Schurr, a vice president for energy & utilities at IBM.

Take the tax issue.

In car-crazy California, for instance, state fuel taxes provide about two-thirds of transportation funding, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. Nearly all that revenue is devoted to building and maintaining highways and local roads. (Which, of course, creates a vicious carbon circle as the more people drive the more taxes are collected for more roads to accommodate more cars.) ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05-07-electric-cars-require-creative-taxation/

[demigoddess]

1. you could put a tax on the electric bill. then if people do not want to pay that

tax they could use solar panels or small windmills to generate their electricity. Sounds like a plan to me.

[napi21]

2. Well, they hsve been talking about a % per mile charge on

freeway driving (in Calif. I think). That could be extended to all driving using an electric car anad billed monthly, quarterly, or annually. As lng as the % was low enough, and there were plenty of places to have your mileage recorded, it would work just fine. Maybe you could record your own mileaage on a form & just have it veified once a year at some place the same way you get your DL renewed.

That way people who are wtill driving gas powered cars wouldn't have to pay it nor would people who don't own a car.

[Skink]

3. Tolls.

smart cips in autos that automatically debit every few miles.

[ejpoeta]

4. well, the tax on gas should tax by usage, so tax for electric cars should be equivalent.

how to collect? i think basing it on miles traveled makes sense. not sure the best way to gauge that. that is something to consider. taxing everyone on their electric bill sounds ok, but if one is not driving an electric car then they are paying twice. if the taxes are just for those driving electric car then that's fine. having a device in the car that keeps track and bills you sounds ok. i think i'd rather be billed weekly or monthly or something for that then having it directly debited from my account. ezpass keeps track and sends a bill monthly. that works ok.

[Sherman A1]

5. I am sure they will figure it out

I am not worried.