taxing us by the mile

[Constantin]

(CBS) College student Jayson Just commutes an odometer-spinning 2,000 miles a month. As CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, his monthly gas bill once topped his car payment.

"I was paying about $500 a month," says Just.

So Just bought a fuel efficient hybrid and said goodbye to his gas-guzzling BMW.

And what kind of mileage does he get?

"The EPA estimate is 60 in the city, 51 on the highway," says Just.

And that saves him almost $300 a month in gas. It's great for Just but bad for the roads he's driving on, because he also pays a lot less in gasoline taxes which fund highway projects and road repairs. As more and more hybrids hit the road, cash-strapped states are warning of rough roads ahead.

Officials in car-clogged California are so worried they may be considering a replacement for the gas tax altogether, replacing it with something called "tax by the mile."

Seeing tax dollars dwindling, neighboring Oregon has already started road testing the idea.

"Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that," says engineer David Kim.

Kim and fellow researcher David Porter at Oregon State University equipped a test car with a global positioning device to keep track of its mileage. Eventually, every car would need one.

"So, if you drive 10 miles you will pay a certain fee which will be, let's say, one tenth of what someone pays if they drive 100 miles," says Kim.

The new tax would be charged each time you fill up. A computer inside the gas pump would communicate with your car's odometer to calculate how much you owe.

The system could also track how often you drive during rush hour and charge higher fees to discourage peak use. That's an idea that could break the bottleneck on California's freeways.

"We're getting a lot of interest from other states," says Jim Whitty of the Oregon Department of Transportation. "They're watching what we're doing.

"Transportation officials across the country are concerned about what's going to happen with the gas tax revenues."

Privacy advocates say it's more like big brother riding on your bumper, not to mention a disincentive to buy fuel-efficient cars.

"It's not fair for people like me who have to commute, and we don't have any choice but take the freeways," says Just. "We shouldn't have to be taxed."

But tax-by-mile advocates say it may be the only way to ensure that fuel efficiency doesn't prevent smooth sailing down the road.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/...ain674120.shtml

[Constantin]

so i saw this on the news today and it kind of worried me especially with granholm in office i know something like this would be right up her alley. cause we all know just how much she really cares about us.......not

but yeah they were also talking with a rep for the obama admin and they said this tax is not being considered by the obama administration .

[Scary Guy]

"Smooth sailing" my ass, have you seen the condition of Michigan roads?

Personally I say bring it on and let them stop charging a tax on gas. That way I can hack the system and screw with the miles.

I wouldn't mind it if they actually used the money to repair the roads, especially with that 20 year concrete that will actually last for 20 years but they won't use. I like cruising in my car, a lot, and would pay to make it happen on smooth roads. Less wear and tear on the car. Not that I can really afford it anyway and I think it will make most vehicles more utilitarian rather than recreational.

[Nightgaunt]

but yeah they were also talking with a rep for the obama admin and they said this tax is not being considered by the obama administration .

Which of course, means it is. Google "Trans Texas Corridor". Our interstates are being leased out to foreign countries so that they can be turned into toll roads. This is apart from the Orwellian tracking devices used to monitor your mileage. It's this under-the-radar stuff that gets me SO incensed.

[TitsMcGee]

This worrys me, because I have no other options but to drive seeing as we don't have public trasportation up here. I drive 60 miles a freaking day just to get to class, 30 there and 30 home. I freaking pay enough for gas already too.

[Scary Guy]

This worrys me, because I have no other options but to drive seeing as we don't have public trasportation up here. I drive 60 miles a freaking day just to get to class, 30 there and 30 home. I freaking pay enough for gas already too.

Yeah, public transportation was thought of and then rejected because this is "the motor city" so now all we get are buses. What a bunch of horse shit.

[Reaper]

Just another way for the government to dip themselves into our personal lives. What probably comes next is information from the communications for ads that specify to what we do or where we travel i.e. hotels near the areas we drive, fuel cleaners for lots of travel, and so on. As if spam wasn't bad enough in emails and homes.

[Rev.Reverence]

they were also talking with a rep for the obama admin and they said this tax is not being considered by the obama administration .

Which of course, means it is. Google "Trans Texas Corridor". Our interstates are being leased out to foreign countries so that they can be turned into toll roads. This is apart from the Orwellian tracking devices used to monitor your mileage. It's this under-the-radar stuff that gets me SO incensed.

..yup...that's how THEY all work...after Cali has a go at it...they'll tout it as a NEEDED fix...

[candyman]

Ah...even as an automotive engineer I don't really want to get into this debate...

However, I will say this....Cali can suck it, hybrids can got to hell, and diesels need to be brought over NOW!

[Head Wreck]

i wuvs my diesel.

hmmm french V10 diesels rock

[SaGa]

perhaps if michigan hired a good road construction company to do there roads. we might accually have a road last more then 2 winters before it breaks up again

[candyman]

perhaps if michigan hired a good road construction company to do there roads. we might accually have a road last more then 2 winters before it breaks up again

Well, they just did almost every stretch of freeway and highway over here by grand rapids and it turned out great. They are still working on a few sections but the technology they used is rather new and it should hold up fairly well.

[TitsMcGee]

Yeah, public transportation was thought of and then rejected because this is "the motor city" so now all we get are buses. What a bunch of horse shit.

The only buses up here are the yellow school buses, do I don't even have that as an option.

[Scary Guy]

The only buses up here are the yellow school buses, do I don't even have that as an option.

Oh wow that sucks. Perhaps you should find some lodging closer to your school. Probably be cheaper in the long run.

[TitsMcGee]

Oh wow that sucks. Perhaps you should find some lodging closer to your school. Probably be cheaper in the long run.

One would need to be able to find employment to afford rent. I currently live with my parents rent free. Seriously Alpena has no jobs at all right now, and it'll be a miracle if I can find one for summer.

[Tacohitts]

Just wait till the cunt governor enacts a "per Capita Tax(a tax on your own body)is from another state,but they have been talking about doing this in Mi as well.

http://www.lowerprovidence.org/documents/F...rCapitalTax.pdf

bet they will try even a walking tax,wonder how they will make all the bums,vagrants pay,probably throw them in jail.

[Rev.Reverence]

Well, they just did almost every stretch of freeway and highway over here by grand rapids and it turned out great. They are still working on a few sections but the technology they used is rather new and it should hold up fairly well.

..till the salt eats it

[candyman]

..till the salt eats it

So what...only the first black president can hope? My roads gotta be goth too? They gotta always bow down to the ravages of life?

"Hey white boy you know that shit ain't gonna last!"

"SHUT UP!"

[Rev.Reverence]

So what...only the first black president can hope? My roads gotta be goth too? They gotta always bow down to the ravages of life?

"Hey white boy you know that shit ain't gonna last!"

"SHUT UP!"

*goth pose*

It's a Goth-Goth-Goth-Goth-World.....

[candyman]

Hey...at least we have roads where they are mostly flat and are wide enough to drive and pass on without falling off the side of a mountain...and we don't have to worry THAT much about a river or a huge storm completely destroying an entire section of road or even the whole road...

we should at least consider ourselves lucky that someone even gives a shit about them...a shitty road crew is better than a man and a donkey "smoothing" out a road and laying logs across a bridge...

if the road hurts your rump that badly maybe its time to fix or upgrade your obsolete suspension...i will do it for free if you get the parts...

I dig the pot holes...no i don't mean dig as in make them...i mean i like to show off my driving skill by swerving around them at high speeds...

again...the point here is that we have roads...and a department that looks after everything transportation related...if you have a will you will find a way...if you need a car i can possibly hook you up...if you need one fixed or made better i work for little to nothing...if you want to buy a schwinn, well, they suck so buy a LeMond...

[Scary Guy]

if the road hurts your rump that badly maybe its time to fix or upgrade your obsolete suspension...i will do it for free if you get the parts...

Oh my suspension is great and the ride is smooth (it's a cadillac, they're known for that). However I'm worried about it screwing up the already good suspension and wrecking the car.

[candyman]

Oh my suspension is great and the ride is smooth (it's a cadillac, they're known for that). However I'm worried about it screwing up the already good suspension and wrecking the car.

Ahh...I see. Just do what I did...slam that shit to the ground so you know that something will get damaged...that way the outcome is always known...

[freydis]

This has already been shot down.

Even then, the proposed tax was one quarter of a cent (.0025) per mile.

[candyman]

This has already been shot down.

Even then, the proposed tax was one quarter of a cent (.0025) per mile.

Damn, I would rather be taxed by the mile that watch cigarette taxes climb 13 cents every few months...its past the point of retarded now...where is all that money going?

[Scary Guy]

Damn, I would rather be taxed by the mile that watch cigarette taxes climb 13 cents every few months...its past the point of retarded now...where is all that money going?

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