General Road and Highway Discussion

[panamaniac]

I don't think it's car hate.  But it's a reasonable discussion about how we should structure the taxes/fees to pay for the infrastructure we do need.  In a sense, it's similar to the question of transit funding: should the costs be paid based on usage (fares) or by general tax revenues (income, sales or property taxes)?  If part of transit cost is usage-based, should the roads be the same?  Is the gas tax a sufficient proxy for this?  

Full disclosure: We have two cars.  And I do love driving my car, but in 2016 I have driven only about 9000 km.  Some day in the not too distant future, we'll have just one.

I should have thought that it could be, if political will were to exist.  I have been at a loss to understand why governments did not take advantage of the drop in gas prices in recent years to increase taxes on gasoline.  Very short-sighted of them, imo, not only in terms of revenue foregone but in terms of the drift toward less fuel efficient vehicles than what assumes would be the case if fuel prices were higher.