California One Step Closer To Pay-By-Mile Tax

CALIFORNIA -- The state government recently completed its Road Charge Pilot Program to see if it's feasible to charge drivers for the miles they drive rather than a flat gas tax. The California State Transportation Agency recently released a summary of the program, which was conducted from July 2016 to March 2017 with the help of 5,000 California drivers.

The Road Charge Pilot Program was implemented after Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1077 into law, requiring transportation officials to study whether a road charge fee is feasible. State officials have long said the gas tax does not generate enough money to support the maintenance of California's 50,000 miles of roads.

"The gas tax is not going to be sustainable, people," Mark Dinger, a spokesman for Caltrans said. "We are going to be using less gas over time, not more."

The pilot program used CAMs (commercial account managers) to collect the miles driven by the participants. The tool also generate and issued simulated invoices, according to the report.

Among the program's findings include:

• 86 percent were satisfied with mileage reporting method
• 74 percent were satisfied with account manager chosen for the pilot
• 73 percent felt a road charge was a more equitable transportation funding solution than the gas tax
• 87 percent found participating in the pilot easy
• 61 percent are more aware of the amount they pay for road maintenance

Dinger told Patch the next step is to do more research with the help of technology companies.

"We're going to be reaching out to the private industry to do more research around the pay-at-the-pump idea," Dinger said. "What we found is a lot of participants really like the idea of, not only reporting their mileage at the pump, but paying at the pump. We want to explore the technology that's available to help us do that."

Dinger said the earliest date a road charge tax will be implemented is 2025, as the state continues to research the idea. The tax would replace the gas tax that's currently in place.

"The long-term solution is really what we're studying here," Dinger said. "The gas tax is a short-term solution."

See Also:

• List Of Retailers Closing Stores In 2018
• California Minimum Wage To Rise New Year's Day

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