As gas tax revenues drop, states like Utah want EVs to pay for road upkeep

Gas taxes pay for the upkeep of our roads, but electric cars don't use gasoline, Jonathan Gitlin writes at Ars Technica.

In the United States, the upkeep of our public roads has traditionally been paid for by the taxes we pay at the fuel pump on gasoline and diesel fuel. As more Americans buy and drive electric vehicles and hybrids that use less gasoline, gas tax revenue continues to drop in relation to the total number of vehicle miles traveled each year.

States like Utah are trying something new: shake down the electric vehicle owners for new money.

Here's more from today's Ars Technica piece, which notes that Oregon has been at it for a while with a similar program:

As a result, some states are starting to grapple with the problem of how to get drivers to pay for the roads they use in cars that use less or even no gas per mile. At the start of this year, Utah has begun a pilot Road Usage Charge program, coupled to an increase in registration fees for alternative fuel vehicles. Assuming a state gas tax of 30c/gallon and 15,542 miles/year driven, Utah says it collects $777 a year from a 6mpg heavy truck, $311 from a pickup getting 15mpg, $187 from a 25mpg sedan, $93 from a 50mpg hybrid, and nothing from anyone driving a battery EV.

So in 2020, Utah is increasing vehicle registration fees. In 2019, registering a BEV in Utah would cost $60; in 2020 that will be $90, increasing to $120 in 2021.