Isn’t increasing the fuel tax a more equitable way to raise revenue than increasing turnpike tolls?
The gas tax no longer produces the revenue required to adequately fund our transportation needs. Raising the gas tax has not gained political traction – the last federal increase was 1993 and the last state increase was 1998 – neither with any inflationary increases. Federal energy objectives and policies are leading legislators away from fuel taxes – if we achieve our energy goals, we will erode the buying power of the gas tax. The magnitude of the problem was demonstrated last year when the National Highway Trust Fund approached a deficit for the first time in history. Tolling as a source for generating transportation revenues is a viable, user-based alternative to the gas tax that is fair and equitable.
