Pew report: highways are increasingly subsidized

Gas tax pays for just 51%

Steve Hawley, Dec 15, 09.

A new report by Pew Charitable Trusts finds that highways are increasingly financed by government subsidies rather than gas taxes, according to Transportation for America.

In 2007, user fees funded just 51 percent of the nation’s highway projects, down from 61 percent in 1997 and 71 percent in the 1960s. Part of the problem is that the gas tax is not indexed to inflation, which means it generates less and less revenue every year. Compounding that is the fact that cars and trucks have become more fuel efficient over the last few decades. Some government officials have proposed a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee instead, which would tax drivers on every mile they travel rather than on how much gas they buy.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) notes that not a single road in Texas pays for itself under the current gas tax system. Some Texas highways pay for about half of their costs, but most fall well short of that.

Report: Analysis Finds Shifting Trends in Highway Funding: User Fees Make Up Decreasing Share