What Can We Learn From Oregon’s Mileage Tax Experiment?

A few weeks ago, the Obama Administration had a rather embarrassing public difference
over the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax. It's certainly
one of the most contentious notions out there, but most of the debate
is based on hypotheticals. Now, as reported by Streetsblog Network member Worldchanging,
the Oregon Department of Transportation has released the results of a
2006 experiment in a pay-at-the-pump mileage-based system, and we have
some data to talk about. Adam Stein writes:

Photo by Entropyer via Flickr.

The
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has compiled a 100-page
report on the experiment that covers a lot of ground, but basically
describes the trial as a roaring success. Note several features of this
system:

• Overhead is low. Because the mileage tax
  piggybacks on the existing gas tax collection system, it’s easy and
  cheap for the state to administer.
• Payment is simple.
  From the driver’s perspective, the mileage tax differs little from the
  gas tax, other than the fact that their gas station receipts contain
  interesting information on miles driven.
• Privacy is protected. The state only gets odometer information, not information about vehicle location.
• Evasion is difficult. Even if you tamper with the GPS receiver, you’re still going to pay the gas tax.
• Phased
  implementation is possible. Oregon doesn’t foresee a complete
  changeover to mileage taxes happening until 2040. This is a bit too
  slow for my taste (I really hope gas stations don’t exist in
  2040), but the point is that gas taxes and mileage taxes can happily
  coexist as the vehicle fleet turns over.

Technically,
the system worked. Just as importantly, public acceptance was high. 91%
of [self-selected] test participants preferred the system to paying gas
taxes.… Before the experiment began, media portrayals of the system
were almost uniformly negative -- and inaccurate. By the middle of
2006, media coverage ranged from neutral to positive, and were far more
accurate. Citizen comment
reflected this broader trend. ODOT concludes, “Effective communication
can lead to public acceptance.”

Elsewhere around the network: Sustainable Savannah has a sheriff's shocking defense of high-speed driving on rural roads; Twin Cities Streets for People links to a CNN report on the national mass transit crisis that uses Transportation for America's excellent map of service cuts around the nation; and Trains for America notes that Japan is committed to staying out in front on high-speed rail.