WSJ Opinion: New Funding Ideas Are Needed for U.S. Roads and Highways

Washington DC March 2, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reported that last week, a bipartisan commission set up by Congress to think about how to pay for the roads and other transportation infrastructure, offered a few ideas.

Prominent among them was taxing your use of the street – using technology that could track how many miles you drive.

For the past 80 years, Americans have paid for highways largely through taxes levied on motor fuel. But gas taxes haven't risen fast enough to keep pace with demand for new roads or repairs. And President Obama's promise to reduce America's use of petroleum would drive those taxes down further. This is why the idea of taxing motorists based on how much they drive appeals to those who drafted the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission report released last week.

The Wall Street Journal reports that your vehicle could have a transponder of some sort embedded in it, which would signal its presence on a stretch of road to sensors positioned along the street.

As you clicked off the miles, you'd be assessed a fee for your "vehicle miles traveled." Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said that the problem of how to pay for roads needs to be worked out with Congress, and that the idea of vehicle miles traveled tax is just one of an array of options that deserves discussion.