Guess it’s time to get used to potholes, collapsing bridges and bumper car drives. Buckle up and switch to 4-wheel drive for the trip to the grocery store!
A report to be released Monday by the Transportation Department shows that over the past seven months, Americans have reduced their driving by more than 40 billion miles. Because of high gasoline prices, they drove 3.7% fewer miles in May than they did a year earlier, the report says, more than double the 1.8% drop-off seen in April.
The cutback furthers many U.S. policy goals, such as reducing oil consumption and curbing emissions. But, coupled with a rapid shift away from gas-guzzling vehicles, it also means consumers are paying less in federal fuel taxes, which go largely to help finance highway and mass-transit systems. As a result, many such projects may have to be pared down or eliminated.
The challenge comes at a time when surging costs for asphalt and other construction materials already are straining state and local transportation budgets. Those cost increases make it more expensive to maintain the nation’s roads, bridges and rail networks.
In many areas, the ragged edges are already showing. About 25% of bridges in the U.S. are either “functionally obsolete” or “structurally deficient,” like the Mississippi River bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis last August, killing 13 people.
[…] Overall, the commission estimated, $225 billion a year is needed to meet the country’s transportation infrastructure needs. Current spending is about 40% of that level.
Not to let facts get in the way of a good story, but… the Minneapolis I-35 bridge DID NOT collapse due to lack of repair, but instead due to a hidden design/construction defect there since day one. The bridge was weak by design.
Ironically, it was an infrastructure improvement project that overloaded the deficient bridge resulting in its collapse.
Ummm,
1. the Gas tax hasnt gone DOWN. its the SAME as it EVER was. its not a percentage, so it DIDNT go up, either.
2. HOW old are these bridges, and roads?
3. in the 90’s there was a study of bridges and roads in the USA…70% of the bridges DIDNT PASS inspection.
4. where did the money go?
PS.
the AGE does mean something..
As Bridges made 60+ years ago were NOT designed for CURRENT numbers of cars and trucks.
Where did the money GO??
As a president of the past has said.
It costs over 1/2 of the TAX to collect the TAX.
ANd its not just the GAS tax, the transportation TAX and PROPERTY TAX that PAY for roads and maintenance..
THAT is alot of money..
Figure GAS..
1,000,000 gallons per STATE(min.est)
x48 continental states
PER day
x 365
times that by .70(the avg tax for states)
= 12,264,000,000 is the MINIMUM amount in taxes.
and their estimate is 10 TIMES this amount is already being collected??
I will tell you what will happen.
AS THE PRICE of gas goes DOWN…The TAX will soon DOUBLE..
AND..
in the first few years things WILL be done, and then…LEFt to ROT. and the TAx wont go down.
The price of gas has doubled in a year, therefore the tax revenue per gallon has doubled. Take that 100% increase in fuel revenues and subtract a measly 3.7% drop in gas usage. Net… your gov is taking in 96.5% more tax revenue on gas than a year ago. Get it?
JIM,
Gas TAX is not a PERCENTAGE in the USA…never has been.
Its a FIXED amount per gallon.
http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/
As of July 1, 2008, the average amount of tax imposed on a gallon of gasoline sold in the United States was 49.4 cents per gallon, up 2.4 cents from the January 2008 report. For diesel fuel, the national average amount of tax was 56.4 cents per gallon, up 2.8 cents from the January 2008 report.
It depends on the way the tax is set up. If it was X cents on the gallon they get less money if less gas is sold but if it was X cents on the dollar how are they getting less money when a gallon costs a lot more dollars? Are people spending less money on gas? I don’t think so.
The only way they get LESS, is if there is LESS gallons sold.
but it still dont answer the question…
In the last 10-20 years…WHERE IS THE MONEY?
The money from Trucking taxes, Property TAX, HIGHWAY tax and FUEL tax…
http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/upload/July_2008_Notes.pdf
Current tax, state and fed.
Do your part. Get in your car and start driving. Move further from work. Make carpooling illegal. Scrap all mass transit.