Taxing gas is not a solution. The tax needs to be levied on the number of miles driven per year. This way there will be an incentive to drive less. With the advent of cars like the Prius, Volt, and Leaf we are seeing that taxing gas is a poor policy because while a Hummer may have paid hundreds of dollars in gas tax every year a Prius driving the same amount of miles is only paying $50, a Volt $20, and a Leaf is $0. Combine this with inflation and revenues go down the toilet.

These dollars are used not just for road maintenance, safety improvements, and some widenings but to support the development of non-motorized trail networks and pay for operating and replacing transit vehicles, as well as Rideshare programs thoughout the State.

By changing how we tax we also change development patterns. Therefore all the land use decisions that are currently made to accomodate peak hour cars will need revision to make areas more compact and cost efficient. It is only then that the policies that have given us folks who think that 40 mile commutes are not a big deal will be able to change as folks will make decisions on where they live based more on where they work and work to improve those school districts instead of heading out the bumpkinville.

Unfortunately changing these policies means abandoning an old beauracracy and adapting a new one. It is a lot of work to do this and politicians are afraid of too much change.