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| Home Front: Economy |
| Instead of paying tax at gas pump, someday you may pay by the mile |
| 2004-10-06 |
| Paying your road taxes in the future might depend more on how much you drive than how much gasoline you pump. Texas is among a group of states researching how to replace the fuel tax with a fee based on the number of miles traveled — making every road a virtual tollway. Transportation officials from across the world discussed the concept here at last month's annual meetings of the trade groups representing the highway and tollway industries. Fees for miles traveled would be measured by Global Positioning System receivers embedded in vehicles. The system would track which roads a motorist uses so the virtual tolls could be distributed to the appropriate agency. Each jurisdiction could set its own per-mile fee. Data would be downloaded from vehicles monthly for billing, or could be transmitted at service stations in lieu of the gas tax. How about an alternative plan of cancelling the gas tax altogether? No politician would dare propose it, but if it came to be it would cause massive growth in the economy. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #7 Someone is invoking a darwinian karma. Itsa bitch. |
| Posted by: Memesis 2004-10-07 5:28:46 AM |
| #6 A dam Texas Democrat probably cam up with this one. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-10-07 5:12:46 AM |
| #5 If someone is Texas proposed this, then all I can say is "String 'em up." |
| Posted by: Matt Helm 2004-10-07 4:36:09 AM |
| #4 Each jurisdiction could set its own per-mile fee. And you thought the proverbial speed-trap villages were something... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-10-06 11:20:26 PM |
| #3 Or make it appear like someone else's device? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-10-06 11:13:50 PM |
| #2 Absolutely the dumbest idea I've ever heard. How long until someone finds a way to disable the GPS tracking device? Or recode it to say you never drive? |
| Posted by: RJSchwarz 2004-10-06 10:55:33 PM |
| #1 "Fees for miles traveled would be measured by Global Positioning System receivers embedded in vehicles. The system would track which roads a motorist uses so the virtual tolls could be distributed to the appropriate agency." Now, THERE is an idea that will have wannabee totalitarians absolutely giddy with anticipation... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-10-06 10:14:02 PM |