Four hundred and fifty drivers in the Research Triangle region will be recruited next year to road test a satellite technology system that might be used one day to replace the gas tax with a tax on every mile we drive, reports the News & Observer.
North Carolina is one of six states participating in a national study conducted by the University of Iowa Public Policy Center to see if Americans will buy into the idea of paying for roads by the mile, instead of by the gallon.
“In the future, all of your roads are going to be funded by tolling or vehicle mile taxes,” said Matthew B. Click, a Florida state turnpike official. “Roads are a transportation utility. They are no different from water or sewer or anything else.”
Autos will be equipped with GPS and computer hardware to track the number of miles they drive and which government jurisdiction they drive through. In all likelihood, we’ll hear objections from civil libertarians worried that Big Brother will be able to track their every movement. It is all but certain that we’ll hear from those opposed to paying for the miles they drive, insisting that some mythical “other” should pay instead. But I agree with Click: Economic logic dictates that tolls and vehicle-mile taxes are the future of transportation finance.
(Hat tip: Larry Gross.)
