In the U.S., Oregon's OReGO program allows drivers to essentially choose between paying the state's 38-cents-per-gallon fuel tax or enroll in the program, which lets them opt to pay a VMT tax and receive a fuel tax credit instead. Internationally, countries such as Germany, Belgium, and Poland have a VMT tax on large trucks, while New Zealand applies a VMT tax to all heavy and diesel-powered vehicles. According to this argument, using VMT would prevent electric vehicle drivers from avoiding their contribution to road funding and maintain a robust road projects fund as the EV market share grows. With the federal Highway Trust Fund facing a persistent deficit from inflation and increasing numbers of electric vehicles on the road, some experts recommend replacing the gas tax with a VMT tax to supplement the road funding that has traditionally come from gas tax revenue. The Federal Highway Administration reports VMT data on a monthly basis. Nevertheless, the metric is used, along with travel times and costs, to measure vehicle travel demand and make policy decisions regarding roadways and other transportation infrastructure. Department of Transportation defines vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as "the total annual miles of vehicle travel divided by the total population in a state or in an urbanized area." The DOT notes that federal data has some limitations, using only 4,000 automatic traffic recorders across the country, and those only on major roads. While " vehicle miles traveled" might sound like a self-explanatory term, the application of this seemingly simple concept has powerful implications for transportation planning and policy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |