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How about paying for roads and bridges by the miles you drive rather than the gasoline you burn?
Falling gas tax revenue from more fuel-efficient vehicles has driven the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to look for volunteers to experiment with technology that could lead to new ways of paying for highways.
About 500 urban and rural motorists will begin testing gear in July that contains GPS links to track distances traveled.
The experiment underscores Minnesota's need for new sources of revenue to pay for highway construction and maintenance.
The state is facing a shortfall of as much as $50 billion for highway work in the next 20 years. It relies nearly entirely on revenue from the gas tax, vehicle registration fees and motor vehicle sales taxes.
Those sources have flattened during economic hard times. Minnesota's gas tax is expected to rise from $823 million in 2010 to $878 million by 2015, but there is concern that increases won't keep pace with construction needs.
"The gas tax is really becoming less viable as a source of revenue to fund the transportation system," said Lee Munnich, who has researched miles taxes for the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota. "Very shortly we're going to start running out of money."
A miles tax could capture revenue lost from more fuel-efficient vehicles while continuing the principle of using motorist fees to pay for most highway work. It's too soon to say whether a miles fee would eventually replace a gas tax, or merely complement it.
