Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Gas Tax

5-Year, $300 Billion “FAST Act” Will Extend Transpo Policy Status Quo to 2020

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 2, 2015 | 2 Comments

They’ve done it. Representatives from the House and Senate have emerged from conference committee with a five-year transportation bill, which is expected to be quickly approved and become first “long-term” bill in more than a decade. The discouragingly-named “FAST Act” is 1,300 pages long, and everyone with a stake in the legislation is still having their policy wonks […]

It’s Time to Stop Pretending That Roads Pay for Themselves

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 25, 2015 | 49 Comments

If nothing else, the current round of federal transportation legislating should end the myth that highways are a uniquely self-sufficient form of infrastructure paid for by “user fees,” a.k.a. gas taxes and tolls. With all the general tax revenue that goes toward roads in America, car infrastructure has benefited from hefty subsidies for many years. […]

Is Raising the Gas Tax Really the Answer?

By Tony Dutzik | May 6, 2015 | 22 Comments

Cross-posted from the Frontier Group … In the 1920s, Great Britain debated the future of its Road Fund – a pot of money raised from vehicle excise taxes and devoted exclusively to road repair. Then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill opposed the fund, arguing that, if drivers paid taxes dedicated solely to roads, “It will be only […]

American Roads Depend on Handouts From Bus Riders, Cyclists, Pedestrians

By Angie Schmitt | May 5, 2015 | 12 Comments

Once upon a time in America, the road system was largely funded by the gas tax. But that was many Highway Trust Fund bailouts ago. Today, only about half the money spent on the U.S. road system comes from fuel taxes, tolls, or other fees paid by drivers, according to a new report [PDF] by the U.S. Public Interest […]

Study: Most Roads Don’t Pay for Themselves

By Angie Schmitt | May 4, 2015 | 35 Comments

Most American roads — even the most highly trafficked — are financial losers. That’s a major finding from a new study by the Center for American Progress [PDF]. A financial analysis by the think tank found that about four out of 10 U.S. highways don’t carry enough traffic to generate sufficient revenue to pay for their maintenance […]

Chris Christie Keeps Trying to Balance NJ’s Books on Backs of Transit Riders

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 23, 2015 | 4 Comments

Governor Chris Christie has really made a mess of New Jersey’s transportation finances. Since 2011, the governor’s “flipping the couch cushions” strategy has resulted in the state amassing an additional $5.2 billion in debt. New Jersey’s gas tax has not increased since the 1980s and is the second lowest in the nation. Without new revenue, predictably enough the […]

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