Fuel efficiency means less money for roads..

cranis

Expert Expediter
Driver
This is why we need to stop the 'small' car talk.. The fuel taxes will continue to rise to help wth roads, and this will in turn drive prices. Taxes eat up to about 25% of the cost of fuel Also I would like to lower the cost of diesel so the job market could be impproved. By this I mean less shipping costs means more hiring to those that manufacture.. also means people will by more,


If there is a downside to improving fuel economy for cars and trucks, it would be that the Highway Trust Fund misses out on revenue from federal taxes on gasoline and diesel. Scorekeepers in the Congressional Budget Office say the trust fund, which pays for roads, bridges and mass transit, will be short $57 billion by 2040 due to federal efficiency standards.

The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, evaluated efficiency standards for cars and light trucks from model year 2010 through model year 2025, saying revenue in the trust fund would experience a $57 billion shortfall, a 21 percent drop, by the year 2040.

According to the report, gasoline taxes make up approximately 60 percent of the Highway Trust Fund while diesel taxes generate another 30 percent. The last 10 percent comes from other taxes and fees – including tire taxes, the excise tax on heavy equipment, and the heavy vehicle use tax.

For this particular report , evaluators did not include the first ever standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks announced last year by the White House. Those numbers would certainly affect the Highway Trust Fund even more once those numbers are added in.

The CBO says policymakers could help balance the books by reducing spending, transferring money from general funds to highways, and/or increasing the gasoline tax or other taxes and fees.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
I would be opposed to any tax increase. The money can be found by cutting the waste like transferring 500m out of the energy dept that was used and wasted for Solyndra.
Giving the government more money only creates another way for them to keep it and pay themselves or waste it.
As things set at the moment, the end user will shoulder the costs.
 
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paullud

Veteran Expediter
They wouldn't need all the money for roads they collect from fuel tax if the money was actually spent on roads instead of other programs.

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davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
Yep....bicycle paths, Am-track, and "green" buses take a big bite out of the budget.
 

OldGuy

Active Expediter
Flip side to more fuel efficient vehicles is that lighter vehicles cause less wear on the roads.
 
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