Very short sighted to come up with a per-mile tax.... It basicallly negates the reason to have fuel efficient vehicles... I doubt it will ever pass.
Actually, I'd say the idea of moving away from a "gas" tax is very far sighted.
Big Brother fears aside, consider the day when a majority of vehicle miles traveled will be "alternative" powered vehicles. The whole theory of the gas tax is to fund roads and highways. More efficient vehicles = less gas sold = lower revenues to build/maintain roads. So how do we replace the revenues, in a relatively equitable manner?
How more equitable can "pay as you go" be? Sure, you'd need different rates for Craig's fat lady scooter versus the F450, but that's easy. Big Brother and collections issues: perhaps not as prevalent in the mid-west, but how many regular travelers on the east coast DON'T have a toll transponder of some sort? There's already a collection mechanism AND location tracking data available.
I'm not saying "by the mile" is necessarily the best idea. But instead of being freightened, come up with something better. How are you going to get all the Tesla drivers to pay for their share of road use?
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