Senate Working Group Promotes VMT Program to Boost Trust Fund
Federal lawmakers should consider implementing a vehicle miles traveled pilot program nationwide as a way to boost dollars for infrastructure projects on a long-term basis, a Senate Finance Committee working group said in a report released July 8.
The working group argued that a program consisting of 5,000 volunteers would be a viable way to keep the Highway Trust Fund sustainable because the tax “can be calibrated closely to the costs that vehicles impose in terms of road damage and congestion.”
The “pilot program, as well as experiences in other states, could inform lawmakers about the practicality and challenges of adopting such a system,” the group wrote in its report. A nationwide VMT program would take about a decade to fully implement, they added.
A VMT program, as it is known, taxes drivers based on the miles they have traveled. Oregon is experimenting with a VMT program, which officials there claim has been easy to use, protects users’ privacy and allows for multiple payment choices.
VMT opponents often bring up concerns related to collection costs, privacy and information security issues.
The Senate working group was assembled to identify a long-term fix for the trust fund, an account used to back many infrastructure projects. The trust fund relies on revenue from the tax on motor fuels. Its funding authority expires at the end of the month.
Since 2000, revenues from fuel taxes have declined because people are driving less, and fuel efficiency has improved considerably.
