BIKE: Fw: Taxing cars by the miles

[Michael Zakes]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Zakes" <watcyc>
To: "Roger Baker" <rcbaker>
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 11:03 AM
Subject: Re: Taxing cars by the miles


> yeah, but what about those bozos that sit and idle for 15-20 minutes or
more
> at a time? they should do a combination of gas tax to go towards
> pollution/air quality mitigation and a road impact fee based on vehicle
> weight/mileage basis. they could do this without the electronic monitoring
> by getting odometer readings at the time of license tag renewal or vehicle
> inspection. of course this makes too much sense so it will probably never
be
> implemented, but CA has done a lot of good stuff in the past, so who knows
> Michael F Zakes, prop.
> Waterloo Cycles
> 2815 Fruth
> Austin TX 78705
> 512.472.9253
>
> "I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of
> mass
> destruction to tell the world where they are."
>
> Ari Fleischer, on July 9, 2003.
>
>
> mail
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Roger Baker" <rcbaker>
> To: "Austin Bikes" <forum>
> Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 4:47 AM
> Subject: BIKE: Taxing cars by the miles
>
>
> > [Hey, wow. This would both discourage suburban sprawl and encourage
> > bicycle use at the same time -- so lets run it up the flagpole here in
> > Texas! Of course there's the little detail about big brother watching
> > our every move, but this is America where we've learned to accept that
> > as part of the price of freedom to fight terrorism (under the Patriot
> > Act) so no big deal there, and the Republicans would support it too.
> > Its kind of a win win win deal, right? -- Roger]
> >
> >
> > By Robert Salladay, Times Staff Writer
> >
> >
> >
> > SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday appointed a new
> > Department
> > of Motor Vehicles director who has advocated taxing motorists for every
> > mile
> > they drive - by placing tracking devices in their cars.
> >
> > The idea would mean a significant overhaul of how California collects
> > taxes
> > to maintain its often-crumbling roads. Under the plan, the state gas
> > tax -
> > now 18 cents a gallon - would be replaced with a tax on every mile
> > traveled
> > by each car and truck.
> >
> > The notion has not been endorsed by Schwarzenegger but is gaining
> > acceptance
> > among transportation and budget experts. As Californians drive
> > increasingly
> > more fuel-efficient cars, state officials are alarmed that the gasoline
> > tax
> > will not raise enough money to keep up with road needs.
> >
> > Charging people for the miles they drive also worries some owners of
> > hybrid
> > cars, because it could wipe out any gas-tax savings they now enjoy.
> >
> > Dan Beal, managing director of public policy for the Automobile Club of
> > Southern California, said altering the system would remove one
> > incentive to
> > buying new-technology hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius, because its
> > owner
> > would pay the same fuel tax as a Hummer owner.
> >
> > "You are arguing against people taking risks on technology development,"
> > said Beal, warning that some mile-tracking systems could invite fraud
> > more
> > than the reliable tax meters at the pump.
> >
> > Any change in the state's gasoline tax would have to be approved by the
> > Legislature.
> >
> > Privacy advocates worry about the government tracking the whereabouts of
> > every car in California. In one scenario - currently being tested in
> > Oregon
> > - tracking devices send a signal to a GPS satellite following the car,
> > and
> > that information would be used to calculate the tax bill. Other devices
> > send
> > a signal directly from the car to the pump, which calculates the tax
> > based
> > on the odometer reading.
> >
> > Annalee Newitz, a policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation
> > in
> > San Francisco, which monitors privacy issues, said if the device "can
> > communicate with a satellite and then communicate back with another
> > device
> > on the ground, it could be used for something else. That would be my
> > concern: How are limits placed on how this device could be used?"
> >
> > Yet some transportation experts say the technology has wider
> > implications.
> > Officials are intrigued by the idea because California could begin
> > taxing
> > people for using specific roads at specific times. To keep people off
> > freeways at peak hours, for example, per-mile fees for city streets
> > could be
> > pegged at a lower rate than the highway. That could prompt people to use
> > alternative routes.
> >
> > The governor and other top aides are exploring ways to alter our
> > gasoline-driven society: Schwarzenegger wants more hybrid and
> > hydrogen-fueled cars, and his new EPA secretary, Terry Tamminen, is
> > writing
> > a book about ending the use of oil entirely, calling it a "dinosaur."
> >
> > For the state budget, the trend looks grim. Revenue from the gas and
> > diesel
> > fuel tax - about $3.3 billion - will have declined 8% between 1998 and
> > 2005,
> > adjusted for inflation, but the amount of miles traveled by cars and
> > trucks
> > on California roads has increased 16%, according to a February report
> > by the
> > legislative analyst. The California Transportation Commission has said
> > the
> > state needs about $100 billion in road and freeway repairs.
> >
> > The appointment of Joan Borucki, a Democrat and longtime Caltrans
> > official,
> > has placed an advocate for a per-mile transportation tax within the top
> > ranks of the Schwarzenegger administration.
> >
> > She included the notion in the California Performance Review, a
> > top-to-bottom audit ordered by Schwarzenegger last year. Borucki was the
> > leader on the transportation section and pushed the idea of an
> > odometer-based fee at an August public meeting in Riverside.
> >
> > The idea has been circulating because more Californians are driving
> > fuel-efficient cars, the review warned. Less gasoline consumed means
> > less
> > money for the state's coffers from the gas tax - even though people are
> > driving and damaging roads just as much. "Electric vehicles, fuel-cell
> > vehicles or other future fuels would not be taxed under" the existing
> > per-gallon system, the report said.
> >
> > The administration said Borucki was not available Monday, but she said
> > in a
> > statement that she wants to transform the DMV "into a customer-friendly,
> > service-oriented unit of our government." Borucki, who was on the
> > California
> > Transportation Commission for two years, still needs state Senate
> > confirmation for the $123,255-a-year job. She started at Caltrans in
> > 1980
> > and worked her way up to manager of new technology and deputy district
> > director for planning.
> >
> > "She's devoted, and she's knowledgeable about the state's situation,"
> > said
> > Elizabeth Deakin, a policy expert with the UC Transportation Center who
> > has
> > known her for 15 years. "She understands the state's concerns about
> > wanting
> > good service, and she understands technology."
> >
> > In Orange and San Diego counties, some freeways are using what is called
> > "congestion pricing" - vehicles pay to use certain lanes at peak hours.
> > And
> > two similar systems are being tested in Oregon.
> >
> > Around Seattle, the Puget Sound Regional Council is placing global
> > positioning devices in 500 cars to monitor where they drive - and then
> > calculating a usage fee based on the roads they use and the times they
> > drive. In Eugene, Ore., test cars are being outfitted with tracking
> > devices
> > that link up with special gas pumps around the area.
> >
> > Currently, cars with high fuel efficiency and large trucks don't
> > generate
> > enough revenue from fuel taxes to pay for the burden they place on
> > roads,
> > said Randall Pozdena, managing director of ECONorthwest, an economic
> > consulting firm. A large truck, he said, can do as much damage on a city
> > street as 10,000 cars, but it still pays the same amount of per-gallon
> > gasoline tax, assuming the gas was purchased in California in the first
> > place.
> >
> > Drivers "can start allocating how much time they spend on each type of
> > street," said Andrew Poat, a former Caltrans official who works for the
> > city
> > of San Diego. It could get even more detailed: Large trucks could be
> > charged
> > higher fees for using residential streets rather than more fortified
> > freeways.
> >
> > "It's just like water. We're trying to get water and energy meters to
> > tell
> > you what time of day you use energy. You use energy at peak hours on a
> > really hot day, you pay more for that.. We need to start sending those
> > price
> > signals to users."
> >
> > Still, privacy advocates worry about "usage creep" - like how the
> > driver's
> > license has evolved into official identification for nearly everyone.
> > The
> > information collected about mileage potentially could be subpoenaed in a
> > court case or used to track someone without their knowledge, they fear.
> >
> > But Pozdena and Deakin, the transportation experts, said most people
> > don't
> > care about this issue as much as privacy advocates, especially when
> > presented with the possibility that as much as 25% of the road could be
> > used
> > by hybrids in the future. Drivers of non-hybrid cars have said it's
> > unfair
> > to pay the larger burden of gasoline taxes, they said.
> >
> > "While some people are concerned about civil liberties, most people are
> > not," Deakin said. "One of the things we found from focus groups and
> > surveys
> > is that most people said if the government wanted to track you, they
> > have
> > other ways to do it."
> >
> >
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