"Gottlieb said the mileage fee could kick in after a certain number of miles, so those who don't drive very much wouldn't get hit. And there could be a cap at the high end as well. Gottlieb said other states have had pilot projects, but none have adopted the mileage fee on a statewide basis."
Capping the high end doesn't sound progressive to me. But raising these fees is a very bad idea for a number of reasons: 1) WISDOTs current scoring system is biased toward highway expansions and does not provide a full economic analysis needed to justify more spending by the state. [ http://on.fb.me/QyISNZ ] 2) Current plans do not include phasing out the minimum $35.1mil carve-out from general purpose revenues starting in 2013. [ pg. 2 http://1.usa.gov/PI0B3T ] 3) There is no plan to restore the money diverted from cities and towns local transportation aid. [pg. 7 http://1.usa.gov/PI0B3T ] 4) When you raise taxes on drivers, they will expect even more priority compared to other modes at state and local levels. When you give drivers priority, you end up inducing more automobile traffic and increasing the perceived need for more spending on roads.
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