Article: States Considering Monitoring, Taxing Motorists With GPS Units

VanMan69 · 02-16-2005, 02:34 PM

Hey 0l33l, go get your tinfoil...

States Considering Monitoring, Taxing Motorists With GPS Units

Some states are considering taxing motorists by the distance they drive, which would help them in collecting more revenue.

About 25 per cent of price paid by consumers for gas goes to the government which uses it for development and maintenance of highways. And fuel efficient cars would reduce the revenue which would make them good for drivers but bad for the roads.

Experts estimated that such cars could give up to 75 mpg in the city and about 50 mpg on highways. The rising price of gas could lead to more consumers selecting fuel efficient vehicles which would cut down the revenue, it said.

The method being considered is every time a car is filled up, the tax would be charged. A computer in the gas station would communicate with the odometer of the car to determine how much the person filling the gas owes as tax on the basis of miles he had driven since the last filling. GPS systems would also be used to track vehicle mileage.

California is considering replacing gas tax with the "tax by mile" and neighboring state of Oregon has already started road testing the idea.

"Drivers will get charged for how many miles they use the roads, and it's as simple as that," engineer David Kim says.

Kim and his team at Oregon State University equipped a test car with a global positioning device to keep track of its mileage. Eventually, every car would need one. (flashback: Thread: GM putting OnStar in all new vehicles?)

The system could track how often you drive during rush hour and charge higher fees to discourage peak use, it said.

"We're getting a lot of interest from other states," said Jim Whitty of the Oregon Department of Transportation. "They're watching what we're doing."

wizardPC · 02-16-2005, 02:42 PM

urge to kill rising.....

jcdillin · 02-16-2005, 02:47 PM

figures...guess they must be running short on cash.

VanMan69 · 02-16-2005, 02:52 PM

Well, that's their "excuse" anyway. Whether it's true is another story.

Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports

(CAFR for California)

Dudes99 · 02-16-2005, 03:00 PM

I'm with Wizard, but I drive a lifted Suburban so maybe I might make out on the deal!?

god_of_cpu · 02-16-2005, 03:00 PM

This makes no sense. If there running out of revenue cause of fuel efficient vehicles, why not just tax fuel more heavily. Gas prices already fluctuate wildly nobody will pay much attention to a little more going to the government and you might make having a fuel effiencent vehicles more desirable to more people.

kiltjim · 02-16-2005, 03:02 PM

Whos up for moving to Canada? Show of hands?

Spaghetti · 02-16-2005, 03:09 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

This makes no sense. If there running out of revenue cause of fuel efficient vehicles, why not just tax fuel more heavily. Gas prices already fluctuate wildly nobody will pay much attention to a little more going to the government and you might make having a fuel effiencent vehicles more desirable to more people.

That's what they do over here....or so they claim..... First they use pollution as an excuse, but if everyone stopped buying gas, the government would be on its knees as they've lost an important source of revenue.
Politicians would have a lot more credibility here if they didn't have multiple tanker-busting limo's and actually walked the 100 yards from the hotel to the conference centres too.....
If I remember correctly, the U.S. spends about 90% of fuel tax on maintaining roads. Over here it's more like 10%....

Could be wrong on the 90% bit though

Scouse Monkey · 02-16-2005, 03:15 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by VanMan69

Hey 0l33l, go get your tinfoil...

75mpg int he city and 50 on the freeway? eh?

isn't thast suposed to be the other way round?

A good diesel hatchback will already get over 60mpg on the motorway. All that GPs will be rediculous - how many more signals do we need floating around in the air????

VanMan69 · 02-16-2005, 03:19 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

This makes no sense. If there running out of revenue cause of fuel efficient vehicles, why not just tax fuel more heavily.

Oh don't worry, I heard somebody on the radio yesterday talking to someone from the CTA, and they were discussing raising the fuel tax by $1 per gallon over the next 10 years, based on the same "cars are getting too efficient" argument.

Skipjacks · 02-16-2005, 03:35 PM

Aren't these the same governments that told us we should buy more fuel effiecient cars and mandated fuel efficiency and gave tax breaks to companies that made fuel efficient cars?

Why did they make us get all these crappy low powered lawnmowers with seats if they are just going to charge us more for them too?

Screw the governments who want to do this stuff!

I say we all go out and get big giant fuel guzzling cars from the 70's just to spite them all!

MatrixPC · 02-16-2005, 03:41 PM

I remember last year or a year ago. If you buy one of the hybrid car, there is a 1 time 2K tax break.
Oh now make me wonder. Arnol has 2 hummers (I think). Tax by gallon will definitely hurt him.

technojunkie · 02-16-2005, 04:29 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Scouse Monkey

75mpg int he city and 50 on the freeway? eh?

isn't thast suposed to be the other way round?

Actually I think its accurate. Hybrids really excel in the city but flounder on the highway as more power is demanded from it than it can most efficiently provide.

LOstBoy · 02-16-2005, 07:35 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Skipjacks

Aren't these the same governments that told us we should buy more fuel effiecient cars and mandated fuel efficiency and gave tax breaks to companies that made fuel efficient cars?

Why did they make us get all these crappy low powered lawnmowers with seats if they are just going to charge us more for them too?

Screw the governments who want to do this stuff!

I say we all go out and get big giant fuel guzzling cars from the 70's just to spite them all!

Way head of ya there. The 66 I'm putting the carputer in is a big block, she drinks lots of gas.....

DaRacerz · 02-16-2005, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Actually I think its accurate. Hybrids really excel in the city but flounder on the highway as more power is demanded from it than it can most efficiently provide

yes, your right about that. Hybrids do excell on city because it uses the battery to start and use the engine to keep powering the car, thats why highways are worse cause its not battery dependant.

As far as the arcticle. is it true? eh, maybe. i can see it happening. But blaming 75mpg city fuel efficient cars is bs based on today hybrids. those things are lucky to get anywhere near the sticker values once the battery has had a chance to discharge in a real world environment. And as far as using GPS to track, well, thats just stupid, cause there will be all too many of use who will put steel blocks over the antennas to make them stop working or just cut the power to the units when unwanted.