It is about time that politicians in Washington and at the state level started paying attention to this foreseeable problem. For at least six years, we have been writing about and telling anyone who would listen that the current gas tax is obsolete.

Why does the system need be changed? Several reasons, primarily though, is that the revenue is going to fall due to the increase in gas mileage in cars and the emergence of the electric car.  An electric car such as a Tesla Model X, that costs anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000 gets a literal free ride on our roadways. Since they do not purchase gasoline, they do not pay any gas tax and therefore they pay $0 to maintain the roads and bridges on the interstate system or their local roads.

Meanwhile the young person who has put together a summer mowing route to put money away for college, is buying gas for their mowers and therefore paying to maintain the roads that their mowers will never touch. Hardly seems fair.

A mileage tax is a user fee, the more you drive, the more wear and tear you cause to the roads, the more you pay to maintain the roads. Seems fair and reasonable.

When we started working on this issue, five or six years ago, we began to write an article to give to one of the trade journals. There was one problem, we could not get one member of congress or one congressional staffer to go on the record with any type of comment about altering the gasoline tax. To have members of congress, republican committee chairman openly discussing the issue is progress. Good for them and let’s get this problem solved.

What are your thoughts?

Christopher M. Hopkins

River Landing Solutions


Congressman Graves supports a switch to a VMT fee, but it’s a long way off

Graves‘ idea has at least one important champion: House Speaker Paul Ryan.

By TANYA SNYDER 05/08/2018 11:38 AM EDT



Could he do it?





A VMT fee has its detractors, though.



















 Brianna Gurciullo contributed to this report.