[vaseline2008]

Just thought some would find interesting.

The New Way to Tax: Pay Per Mile Driven

Blame it on the double whammy of a recession prompting people to drive less, which means they are filling up less often. On top of that, Americans are increasingly driving more fuel efficient vehicles, including hybrids, which means people make fewer trips to the gas station. According to the University of Michigan, the average fuel economy for a new vehicle sold in 2012 was 23.8 MPG, an all-time high.

[topcat]

So, now does everyone start to understand why one of the reasons most cars are coming out with 'On-Star' (which still transmits even if you do not subscribe to the service)?

[The_Toecutter]

You know, a sensible road tax policy would include making the truckers pay their fair share of the road wear. The average 18-wheeler literally accounts for thousands of times more road wear than even a Hummer, yet the 18-wheelers pay proportionally nowhere near the same amount. I don't think it is fair for me to have to subsidize their share of the road use while also requiring my privacy to be violated to accommodate this subsidy.

If 18-wheelers had to pay their fair share, we'd actually see an re-emergence of vastly more efficient solutions to ship our goods, such as rail.