Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed a supplemental transportation budget with strong bipartisan support. It was a no new taxes budget that continued funding for a number of important construction projects, leveraged federal money, and invested in reforms at WSDOT and DOT that will improve service and efficiency.
One of the most important provisions of the budget, however, was focused entirely on future of our transportation system: studying the potential of a Road User Charge. The supplemental transportation budget included $500,000 to research the feasibility and implementation of this funding mechanism.
So just what is a Road User Charge anyway?
The short answer is that a Road User Charge is a tax on how far people actually drive. For that reason, it is often referred to more technically as a “vehicle miles traveled” charge. It is a new concept that several states are exploring – Oregon has even implemented a pilot program – as an alternative to the gas tax.
Why the Road User Charge is garnering attention is a bit more complicated, but is largely because of long term concerns over the gas tax. Over the years data has shown that the gas tax is an imperfect tool when it comes to assessing how much people actually drive. The chart below, prepared by WSDOT, illustrates this point well.
The darker green gas tax line differs rather significantly from the pale line representing the actual mileage people are traveling. That means that people are over- or under-paying based on how much they actual make use of our roads and bridges.
Policymakers have long understood that the gas tax is not perfectly analogous to road usage, but the end of the graph shows why this is a long term problem for Washington’s transportation infrastructure. As vehicles become more and more fuel efficient, gas tax revenues will continue to decline even if the rates are raised. Many believe that a tax system aligned to how far people drive – a Road User Charge – is the best way to ensure that there is adequate funding for our transportation system in the coming years.