OreGo, nation's first pay-per-mile test, targets EVs, plug-in hybrids
#1
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Oregon is about to embark on a first-in-the-nation program that aims to charge car owners not for the fuel they use, but for the miles they drive. The program is meant to help the state raise more revenue to pay for road and bridge projects at a time when money generated from gasoline taxes are declining across the country, in part, because of greater fuel efficiency and the increasing popularity of fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric cars.
Starting July 1, up to 5,000 volunteers in Oregon can sign up to drive with devices that collect data on how much they have driven and where. The volunteers will agree to pay 1.5 cents for each mile traveled on public roads within Oregon, instead of the tax now added when filling up at the pump.
Some electric and hybrid car owners, however, say the new tax would be unfair to them and would discourage purchasing of green vehicles. "This program targets hybrid and electric vehicles, so it's discriminatory," said Patrick Connor, a Beaverton resident who has been driving an electric car since 2007.
State officials say it is only fair for owners of green vehicles to be charged for maintaining roads, just as owners of gasoline-powered vehicles do. "We know in the future, our ability to pay for maintenance and repair... will be severely impacted if we continue to rely on the gas tax," said Shelley Snow with the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Other states are also looking at pay-per-mile as an alternative to dwindling fuel tax revenues.
Last year, California created a committee to study alternatives to the gas tax and design a pilot program; Washington state set money aside to further develop a similar program; and an Indiana bill directs the state to study alternatives and a test project.
While growing in popularity, electric vehicles and hybrids are still in the minority on American roads, even in a state as green-minded as Oregon. Of 3.3 million passenger cars registered in Oregon at the end of 2014, about 68,000 were hybrid, 3,500 electric and 620 plug-in hybrid. A decade ago, only 8,000 hybrids were registered.
However, fuel-economy for gas-powered vehicles has been increasing as technology is developed that addresses public concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil.
Oregon is the only state to actually test-drive the pay-per-mile idea.
The gas tax provides just under half of the money in Oregon's highway fund, and the majority of the money in the federal Highway Trust Fund, of which Oregon receives a portion.
Oregon's share of the fuel tax over the past two decades has been mostly flat and in some years declined, state data show. In 2009, the Legislature raised the tax from 24 cents to 30 cents per gallon, but that's not enough to avert shortfalls, state officials said, because construction costs increase with inflation.
Oregon previously held two rounds of small-scale tests involving GPS devices to track mileage.
The current program, called OreGo, will be the largest yet and will be open to all car types. Of these, no more than 1,500 participating vehicles can get less than 17 miles per gallon, and no more than 1,500 must get at least 17 miles per gallon and less than 22 miles per gallon.
Volunteers will still be paying the fuel tax if they stop for gas. But at the end of the month, depending on the type of car they drive, they will receive either a credit or a bill for the difference in gas taxes paid at the pump.
Private vendors will provide drivers with small digital devices to track miles; other services will also be offered. Volunteers can opt out of the program at any time, and they'll get a refund for miles driven on private property and out of state.
After the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon raised concerns about privacy and government surveillance, the state built protections into the program, said ACLU's interim executive director Jann Carson.
Drivers will be able to install an odometer device without GPS tracking. For those who use the GPS, the state and private vendors will destroy records of location and daily metered use after 30 days. The program also limits how the data can be aggregated and shared. Law enforcement, for example, won't be able to access the information unless a judge says it's needed.
"This is the government collecting massive amounts of data and we want to ensure the government doesn't keep and use that data for other purposes," Carson said.
The OreGo program is projected to cost $8.4 million to implement and is aimed to gauge public acceptance of the idea of charging motorists per mile of road they travel. It will be up to the Legislature to decide whether to adopt a mandatory road usage charge.
One of the biggest concerns will be whether a program like OreGo could actually discourage people from buying electric or hybrid vehicles.
Drive Oregon, an advocacy group for the electric-vehicle industry, supports the program because every driver should pay for road repairs, executive director Jeff Allen said. Still, he said, "The last thing we need to do right now is to make buying electric cars more expensive or inconvenient."
Starting July 1, up to 5,000 volunteers in Oregon can sign up to drive with devices that collect data on how much they have driven and where. The volunteers will agree to pay 1.5 cents for each mile traveled on public roads within Oregon, instead of the tax now added when filling up at the pump.
Some electric and hybrid car owners, however, say the new tax would be unfair to them and would discourage purchasing of green vehicles. "This program targets hybrid and electric vehicles, so it's discriminatory," said Patrick Connor, a Beaverton resident who has been driving an electric car since 2007.
State officials say it is only fair for owners of green vehicles to be charged for maintaining roads, just as owners of gasoline-powered vehicles do. "We know in the future, our ability to pay for maintenance and repair... will be severely impacted if we continue to rely on the gas tax," said Shelley Snow with the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Other states are also looking at pay-per-mile as an alternative to dwindling fuel tax revenues.
Last year, California created a committee to study alternatives to the gas tax and design a pilot program; Washington state set money aside to further develop a similar program; and an Indiana bill directs the state to study alternatives and a test project.
While growing in popularity, electric vehicles and hybrids are still in the minority on American roads, even in a state as green-minded as Oregon. Of 3.3 million passenger cars registered in Oregon at the end of 2014, about 68,000 were hybrid, 3,500 electric and 620 plug-in hybrid. A decade ago, only 8,000 hybrids were registered.
However, fuel-economy for gas-powered vehicles has been increasing as technology is developed that addresses public concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil.
Oregon is the only state to actually test-drive the pay-per-mile idea.
The gas tax provides just under half of the money in Oregon's highway fund, and the majority of the money in the federal Highway Trust Fund, of which Oregon receives a portion.
Oregon's share of the fuel tax over the past two decades has been mostly flat and in some years declined, state data show. In 2009, the Legislature raised the tax from 24 cents to 30 cents per gallon, but that's not enough to avert shortfalls, state officials said, because construction costs increase with inflation.
Oregon previously held two rounds of small-scale tests involving GPS devices to track mileage.
The current program, called OreGo, will be the largest yet and will be open to all car types. Of these, no more than 1,500 participating vehicles can get less than 17 miles per gallon, and no more than 1,500 must get at least 17 miles per gallon and less than 22 miles per gallon.
Volunteers will still be paying the fuel tax if they stop for gas. But at the end of the month, depending on the type of car they drive, they will receive either a credit or a bill for the difference in gas taxes paid at the pump.
Private vendors will provide drivers with small digital devices to track miles; other services will also be offered. Volunteers can opt out of the program at any time, and they'll get a refund for miles driven on private property and out of state.
After the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon raised concerns about privacy and government surveillance, the state built protections into the program, said ACLU's interim executive director Jann Carson.
Drivers will be able to install an odometer device without GPS tracking. For those who use the GPS, the state and private vendors will destroy records of location and daily metered use after 30 days. The program also limits how the data can be aggregated and shared. Law enforcement, for example, won't be able to access the information unless a judge says it's needed.
"This is the government collecting massive amounts of data and we want to ensure the government doesn't keep and use that data for other purposes," Carson said.
The OreGo program is projected to cost $8.4 million to implement and is aimed to gauge public acceptance of the idea of charging motorists per mile of road they travel. It will be up to the Legislature to decide whether to adopt a mandatory road usage charge.
One of the biggest concerns will be whether a program like OreGo could actually discourage people from buying electric or hybrid vehicles.
Drive Oregon, an advocacy group for the electric-vehicle industry, supports the program because every driver should pay for road repairs, executive director Jeff Allen said. Still, he said, "The last thing we need to do right now is to make buying electric cars more expensive or inconvenient."
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Our tolls here in Miami-Dade County have not only gone up, but they added more places where you get tolled and there is no sign of the traffic situation being alleviated any time soon.
#6
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More and more roads will become toll roads and not much difference from Oregon's scheme in the end.
#7
Lexus Test Driver
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When will legislators understand the most basic rule of political economics - namely that there will be less of what is taxed (not to mention more of what is subsidized)?
IMO it doesn't matter where it comes from, because either way spending directly or indirectly comes out of the general tax pool one way or another. If there isn't enough tax money for road infrastructure and maintenance, the remainder will come out of the general tax pool. It works the other way too; if the gas tax money doesn't get spent on road infrastructure and maintenance, it'll just get appropriated to be wasted on something else.
It's just like the 'lotteries to fund education' debacle. The lotteries do wind up funding education, but typically the lottery money just replaces other existing funding - it doesn't actually increase the funding for education. It just frees up general tax money that used to be spent on education so that governments can waste it on something else. Ultimately it's all the same, no matter how much legislators try to fool the general public into thinking it's for something specific.
But at least tolls can be adjusted to reflect demand (even based on time of day), therefore proactively affecting consumer behavior. General mileage taxes can't do that in any specific manner.
It's just like the 'lotteries to fund education' debacle. The lotteries do wind up funding education, but typically the lottery money just replaces other existing funding - it doesn't actually increase the funding for education. It just frees up general tax money that used to be spent on education so that governments can waste it on something else. Ultimately it's all the same, no matter how much legislators try to fool the general public into thinking it's for something specific.
But at least tolls can be adjusted to reflect demand (even based on time of day), therefore proactively affecting consumer behavior. General mileage taxes can't do that in any specific manner.
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#8
Lexus Test Driver
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Big thumbs down. Every comment from around the web has been against this.
"This sucksss a.. 10gallons @ $4.00= $40/gallons. With new law 10 gallons × ($4 - .53)= $34.70 you save $5.30 at the pump. Now If you car does 30mpg, then 30mpg x 10gallons x .05= $15. Now you will owe $15. This sucks for people that commute lots miles to work. I would need a raise of find a closer job
"
"So a person who commutes 100 miles a day, as I do, will pay $5 a day to drive, or $25 a week, $100 a month, $1200 a year, JUST TO GET TO WORK?"
Rural commuters would take a huge hit. The lawmakers have to stop raiding the hwy& transportation fund. There's enough money in there. Here in CA you have to pay smog fees, weight fee, renewal fees private license fee and so forth. We need to stop ALL or at least curtail 90% forms of welfare public & corporate. Stop passing an infinite set of bonds that we have no means to pay.
100 Billion for high speed rail
50 Billion for Delta water tunnels.....
"The officially recognized unfunded liability for California’s public employee retirement benefits – pensions and retirement health care – adds another $265.1 billion. Applying a potentially more realistic 5.5% discount rate to calculate the unfunded pension liability adds an additional $200.3 billion. All of these outstanding debts combined total $848.4 billion. The study also shows that by extrapolating from available data that is either outdated or incomplete, and using a 4.5% discount rate to calculate the unfunded pension liability, the estimated total debt soars to over $1.1 trillion."
That's T as in Trillion. We need to stop borrowing the future.
"This sucksss a.. 10gallons @ $4.00= $40/gallons. With new law 10 gallons × ($4 - .53)= $34.70 you save $5.30 at the pump. Now If you car does 30mpg, then 30mpg x 10gallons x .05= $15. Now you will owe $15. This sucks for people that commute lots miles to work. I would need a raise of find a closer job
![Frown](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif)
"So a person who commutes 100 miles a day, as I do, will pay $5 a day to drive, or $25 a week, $100 a month, $1200 a year, JUST TO GET TO WORK?"
Rural commuters would take a huge hit. The lawmakers have to stop raiding the hwy& transportation fund. There's enough money in there. Here in CA you have to pay smog fees, weight fee, renewal fees private license fee and so forth. We need to stop ALL or at least curtail 90% forms of welfare public & corporate. Stop passing an infinite set of bonds that we have no means to pay.
100 Billion for high speed rail
50 Billion for Delta water tunnels.....
"The officially recognized unfunded liability for California’s public employee retirement benefits – pensions and retirement health care – adds another $265.1 billion. Applying a potentially more realistic 5.5% discount rate to calculate the unfunded pension liability adds an additional $200.3 billion. All of these outstanding debts combined total $848.4 billion. The study also shows that by extrapolating from available data that is either outdated or incomplete, and using a 4.5% discount rate to calculate the unfunded pension liability, the estimated total debt soars to over $1.1 trillion."
That's T as in Trillion. We need to stop borrowing the future.
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