With this equipment on board, everyone who goes 1mph over the limit can expect to see a flashing red light within 30 seconds. More revenue.
Built-in automatic toll collection for every vehicle
By: Drivers.com staff
Date: Thursday, 15. January 2009
At the recent World Congress on Intelligent Transportation systems in New York City (November, 2008) Transportation and technology consultant Ed Regan described a "national pricing system" that would replace the gasoline tax as a source of road infrastructure funding with an automated road pricing system in which every vehicle pays by miles driven.
Speaking for Wilbur Smith Associates, a transportation consulting company with engineering, planning and economic expertise, Regan described his vision of a road pricing future.
Every vehicle in the United States would be equipped with a device for fully automated road toll fee collection. GPS technology would ensure that vehicles would only be charged for miles driven. The federal government, Regan surmises, would pay initially for the cost of installing the devices but would soon recoup the costs in road fees.
Regan's vision is in response to recent projections that the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which is the federal government's primary source for financing U.S. highway, bridge and transit projects, is dwindling. With more economical cars, less driving and the poor state of highway infrastructure, the HTF can't keep up. This means that alternative sources of funding must be found.
The technology Regan envisions could, he reckons, be more than just a toll fee collection system. It could be a "killer app" that opens the door to all kinds of information exchange about road conditions, traffic, location-based services and safety systems. It could be a key part of the "Vehicle Integration Initiative" which sees vehicles exchanging information with one another and with the roadway system to manage traffic and safety.
Further comments to this article have been disabled.
All Comments (5)
Showing 1 - 5 comments
Spacegold,
Neil,
So here's how this will work.
Washington will pass a tax on the miles that we drive...then 'forget' to repeal the fuel tax.
They get double the revenue.
Neat scam, huh??
Victor,
What can be unfair about paying for something according to how much you use. I don't own a car. I made the choice to live near where I work and I can cycle, or even walk to work. I can also take the bus.
It seems to me only fair that someone who decides to live 50 miles from their work and has to use the roads everyday should pay more for their upkeep.
OK, so some people don't have a choice, or at least right now. Maybe those people should get tax breaks while they get organized.
I have nothing against truckers but trucks have been forced on us in recent years by government decisions that favor trucks over trains. Truckers are hard on roads and they pollute. I know we need them but, once again, if they need help why not use general tax breaks rather than supplying cheap roads to everyone and subsidizing long -distance commuters.
John,
This idea sucks, we consumers finally begin to buy more economical cars to conserve fuel and save money, now the government wants to take the money we saved, and make us pay more for these fees for miles driven? What gives, how about the man who has to travel a good distance just to go to work, so he can put food on the table. He gets screwed paying this too. The truck drivers really would be getting the shaft!
Tony Moore,
I have been driving my 1967 Mustang for for forty two years, I was planning to buy another vehicle in three years.
This will discourage me. I hope this policy encourages others to do the same.
