Multiple U.S. states are weighing whether to charge vehicle owners a fee based on the miles they travel as officials seek to replace gas taxes, which have been declining for some time.
For more than a century, gas taxes have been a major source of revenue for state transportation funding. This has contributed to maintaining the country’s roads.
However, while motor fuel taxes make up 29–60 percent of state transportation funding, they have declined in recent years because of inflation, better fuel efficiency, and a shift toward electric vehicles, among other factors.
States are now scrambling to find an alternative to the problem, one of which is charging vehicle owners by the miles they drive, rather than per gallon of gasoline purchased….