Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Gas Tax

State Budget Includes $625 Million Road Bailout for 2013

By Stephen Miller | Feb 11, 2013 | 1 Comment

For years, Albany has raided the state’s highway trust fund, using general tax revenue to patch holes. This year, the governor’s budget, as filed in the Senate and Assembly, includes a mammoth $625 million road bailout, larger than the $519 million projected in the financial plan and higher than most trust fund bailouts in previous years. The Dedicated Highway and […]

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Drivers Cover Just 51 Percent of U.S. Road Spending

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 23, 2013 | No Comments

There’s a persistent misconception in American culture that transit is a big drain on public coffers while roads conveniently and totally pay for themselves through the magic of gas taxes. And that used to be true — at least for interstate highways, a fraction of the total road network. But that was many, many failed […]

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GAO: Mileage Fee Could Be More “Equitable and Efficient” Than Gas Tax

By Tanya Snyder | Jan 14, 2013 | No Comments

While governors debate raising (or eliminating) their states’ gas taxes, buzz is building about mileage-based fees, or a vehicle-miles-traveled charge. A House provision to ban U.S. DOT from studying such a fee has gone away (along with its sponsor), while Rep. Earl Blumenauer is trying to get the Treasury Department to look into how it could […]

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House GOP Wastes Time With Bogus Gas Tax Debate

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 7, 2012 | No Comments

If you’ve been following the ongoing transportation bill saga, then you know there’s a fair amount of gamesmanship going on in Congress right now — lots of political posturing, little progress on substantive policy. Here’s a great new example of what the House GOP has been up to instead of passing a transportation bill: Representative […]

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Mileage-Based Fees or Bust: New Report Says “No More Excuses”

By Noel Popwell | May 3, 2012 | No Comments

The shortcomings of the current gas tax are well-known. The federal rate (18.4 cents/gallon) has not been raised in nearly twenty years and is not tied to inflation, yet it remains the primary source of funds for federal transportation spending. The problem is exacerbated by improving vehicle fuel economy. And as electric cars roll off the […]

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Infographic: When Reagan, the GOP, and Democrats Doubled the Gas Tax

By Ben Goldman | Mar 20, 2012 | No Comments

Something to keep in mind while the House GOP leadership toys with the idea of sending national transportation policy back to the 1950s…

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