http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ROAD_USE_STUDY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=USJul 8, 5:52 PM EDT
Drivers asked to test alternative to fuel taxBy HEATHER CLARK
Associated Press Writer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Researchers are looking for 1,500 drivers in six cities, including Albuquerque, to test an on-board computer system that taxes motorists based on miles driven rather than fuel taxes paid at the pump.
That mileage-based tax is being considered by the University of Iowa Public Policy Center in a $16.5 million study for the U.S. Department of Transportation to determine whether it's a viable option for paying for surface transportation, including roads and railroads, in the future.
The gas tax over the long term "is irrevocably broken and something is going to have to be done," said Jon Kuhl, a University of Iowa professor of electrical and computer engineering and principle investigator on the study.
Researchers are looking for participants to install the computers on their vehicles and tell researchers what they think of the new system. The other cities are Billings, Mont., Chicago, Miami, Portland, Maine, and Wichita, Kan.
Last year, motorists in San Diego, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, N.C.; Boise, Idaho; and eastern Iowa gave their opinions on the system. Kuhl said the data has not been analyzed so it's too early to reach conclusions from that phase of the study.
Currently, motorists pay 18 cents per gallon of fuel to the federal Highway Trust Fund to pay for surface transportation, Kuhl said. All states except Alaska also charge a state gas tax. But the tax - the primary source of federal highway program funds - has become less effective in recent years.
"As vehicles become more fuel efficient, the money raised by the gas tax goes down," Kuhl said. And drivers of the increasingly popular electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles aren't paying their fair share for road use.
In April, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn. and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he wants Congress to go ahead and enact a mileage-based tax, rather than waiting years to test the idea.
A congressionally mandated commission on transportation financing alternatives recommended switching to a vehicle-miles traveled tax, but estimated it would take a decade to put a national system in place.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has ruled out raising gas taxes to make up for the funding shortfall, and the White House has rejected a mileage-based tax. They have not offered an alternative.
The cities picked for the study reflect the nation's demographics, and Kuhl said the center steered away from areas - like Oregon and the Puget Sound region of Washington - where similar taxation systems are already being studied.
Under the system, a small computer is installed in a participant's vehicle and will record miles and road use. It can also tell what state a person is driving in and can charge different tax rates based on the fuel mileage of the car being driven, Kuhl said.
The information would be uploaded to a database, which will distribute the funds to the states, counties or cities in which the travel took place.
The participants in the 10-month study then receive a bill, which they don't have to pay, and four to five surveys asking them about their attitude toward the system and how they think it works. In return, they are paid $895.
The goals of the study are to test whether the new approach is user-friendly, secure, trouble-free and acceptable to drivers. Researchers are also looking closely at drivers' attitudes about whether the computers violate their privacy.
"People are rightfully concerned about the potential that this technology would be used in ways that would compromise their privacy," Kuhl said.
If privacy wasn't an issue, Kuhl said there's many ways the system could be used to tax drivers to achieve social objectives. For example, drivers could be taxed higher rates for driving during rush hour or lower rates depending on their car's overall carbon footprint, not just its gas mileage.
Kuhl said the study will be completed in September 2010.
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I live in an area where there is NO public transportation. We don't even have taxi's. It's 2 miles just to get from my home to the nearest road. My car gets 36 mpg, yet I would have to pay the same rate as my neighbor that drives a Suburban? I haven't quite figured this out yet. Are they going to take the taxes out of the gas price then? What incentive would I have to drive my smaller more efficient car? (besides it's cute factor and fun to drive?)