Restoring the Old Deal Behind Road Funding
Efforts to raise gas taxes, add mileage-based fees, or otherwise charge drivers more directly for road use may sound like new taxes or fees. But a recent Fast Company article highlights how, in an important sense, these proposals are attempts to restore an older road-funding bargain.
For decades, gas taxes helped connect road use to road funding. Drivers bought fuel, fuel purchases generated tax revenue, and that revenue helped pay for highways, bridges, and other major road infrastructure.
That link has weakened. The federal gas tax has not been raised since 1993. Cars have become more fuel efficient. Electric vehicles use little or no gasoline. Meanwhile, the cost of maintaining and expanding roads has continued to grow.
The result is a funding shift that happened through inertia, not through an explicit public decision. When gas-tax revenue falls short, the gap is filled with broader public funds. That means people who drive less, drive very little, or do not drive at all can end up subsidizing road costs that used to be covered more directly by drivers.