Rising gas prices to Help Hybrid/EV sales?

we have gantry's over the road, and transponders in the cars.

 

Good lord...
No all that sounds terrible.
Spending billions to monitor traffic to collect a variable tax based on political metrics is about the worst thing that could ever happen to this country.
It could easily be used to reduce freedom and force politics into where, what, how you can drive and when.

There is simply no reason to ever consider it for any reason, it certainly would not reduce driving costs for anyone and would open the door for unequal taxation to penalize individuals for choices made or location lived in.
Also today semis pay many forms of large access fees externally to road tax, is it enough?
Nope, but I guarantee based on the stupidity of believing indivuals need to pay much more for road tax including 400lb motorcycles is a corporate ploy to eventually completely except semis from paying any tax at all.
If we go to a tracking based system THAT IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN.

The fact that we are willing to give up our freedom to pay exponentially more taxes for roads instead of just raising the tax 5 cents every once and a while shows we are becoming intellectually bankrupt, listening to propaganda over a simple and rather painless solution

I can't comprehend what happened that people think raising the fuel tax percentage is horrible but having big brother charge you 3x more and knowing your every trip is better.

Great world we live in, such a huge waste of money invested not in the road but in monitoring it.

 

A simpler answer for states to raise registration fees. Australia does this. The "problem" then is people realize the old car costs money to hold, so they get rid of it.

 

http://www.expresslanes.com For a variable toll, drivers can choose to exit the slow lanes for the VIP lanes.

Tolls vary by time and perceived demand.

 

Michelle...but what do your local farmers with the pick-ups think?
I drove thru Mariposa so I saw them.
In VA they feel the fuel tax hits the rural folks hardest, and VA is run by the rural set, basically.

 

I live in Tea Party nation. I can assure you that any tax or fee will be strongly opposed. We've just had extra fees levied against us to help pay for fire protection. No one is happy about that since it only applies to homeowners here and not the rest of the state or local ranches. I'm neutral on it. I've always been in favor of a higher tax on fuel oil by the barrel. It's always hard to come up with ways to pay for stuff through taxation. You'll always get someone upset. I believe my problem is that I think about these things too much. In any case... I've got a car that's getting me 63 MPG in the hills here. I'm good with that.

 

but better than toll booths, toll takers, salaries, benefits and lifetime retirement.

 

Oh boy, in UK we we pay for the gas, pay tax on the gas sale and the pay another tax (Value added tax- VAT) on that subtotal to get the pump price. None of this is ring fenced for highway maintenance, but just goes into the pot to be spent wherever. The motorist is the soft target for governments of every political persuasion

 

Around here, toll booths are long gone. The only 'toll takers' are the people sitting at computer screens reading pictures of license plates on vehicles that the RFID sensors and computer vision can't make out. Salaries, yes. Benefits and retirement, no, they work for private contractors.

 

Or just raise the gas tax.

 

and leave the toll booths up.

 

There was talk here MANY YEARS AGO reducing registration fees and increasing fuel tax - the philosophy was that the more fuel a vehicle used, the more maintenance was required on the roads they use. From memory they were figuring less fuel = less weight &/or = less distance. I guess a hybrid or EV kind-of ruins that - except that I haven't yet seen a lead-footed PRIUS or EV driver - they tend to be kinder to the environment (roads) in the way they drive.

From what I see - they did increase fuel tax, but registration fees didn't drop - they went up too. Just what you'd expect politicians to do.

 

Yup and if you got 3 persons you can flip the HOV switch on your special Va. EZPass...finally ditched our NJ EZPass.

 

one ez pass won't get me to north carolina?

 

You're good! Full Price however.
There are many local EZ Pass benefits and discounts, such as free HOV3 in Va. with special EZPass.
So you need a shoebox full of EZPasses if you want to get the local discounts, but it ain't worth it as there is usually at least $12/year charge.

Pretty complex in the north Jersey/NYC area..we have some long threads here on how to optimize for residents in that area. I am sure it's out of date now.

 

so, i can't jump in the hov in nova, and pay extra with my standard ez pass?

 

Yes with any EZPass they will gladly charge you tolls on the I495 Beltway and I95 Express lanes. It is now TOLL or HOV3. Hybrids are kicked out (no longer free). I66 is being converted starting 2017, but won't be done until 2021, at which point the "grandfathered" hybrids have not much free HOV advantage.

I am a grandfather, but my Prius is not "grandfathered" so I do not get free HOV.

 

thanks! once a year hov from washington to fredericksburg will be well worth the price unless it's creep and crawl like the rest of 95.

 

I think gas taxes are too low if raising them would provide better roads and fewer miles driven by the populace.

 

The Robber Barons in the NJ legislature recently voted to raise our gas tax by 23 cents per gallon and our governor signed it after a slight reduction in the state sales tax and an eventual elimination of our estate tax was offered to make it "revenue neutral". That, along with coming higher oil prices, should help revive hybrid sales here in New Jersey. Rethinking my hoped for Lincoln MKZ purchase to consider ONLY the Hybrid model of that car and forget the turbo four with all wheel drive. Not ruling out a Prius Eco Two if money gets too tight.