Will the electric car kill the Interstate Highway System?

As The United States shifts increasingly toward efficiency standards that require that all vehicles to achieve 35 mpg or better, there may be a hidden peril lurking for the Interstate Highway System. As Keith Crain points out in a recent op-ed piece for Automotive News, the funding mechanism for building the IHS – the Highway Trust Fund – depends heavily upon gasoline tax. When drivers consumer a lot more gasoline, more and a lot more tax dollars are being put into the Highway Trust Fund. Eventually, the new breed of efficient internal combustion and electronic autos will require no gas to operate. Thus, Crain calls for Congress to find option means of maintaining the Highway Trust Fund.

Source for this article: Will the electric car kill the Interstate Highway System?

The Interstate Highway System’s short-term stimulus

During President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration, the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 (which established the Interstate Highway System) was considered a landmark public works law. The network of highways is nevertheless the largest system of its kind in the world, and the ways in which it has furthered commerce, travel and defense in The United States can’t be discounted. Sadly, lawmakers at the time weren't able to predict how much money would be needed to maintain the IHS. Through various means, Congress has found solutions to keep the Highway Trust Fund operational after its key provisions to back up the IHS had initially expired. Of course, this has only been short term. President Obama’s green initiatives may look good on paper, especially considering expansions of green public transportation, but transitioning the American public to using public transport instead of private automobiles for daily tasks may be a difficult go! al.

The debate on Highway Trust Fund is complicated

C-Span recently posted a three-plus hour debate on funding the highway system. Part of the problem, according to Senators Tom Coburn and John McCain, is that Congress too often “raids the cookie jar,” taking money out of the Highway Trust Fund in order to finance unrelated pet projects. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has proposed a tax on automobile miles traveled (VMT) to help make up for gasoline tax shortages. According to the Washington Post, this idea is exremly unpopular because numerous fear the government will use mileage counters to monitor drivers.

Where is they money going to come from?

There is no answer acceptable to all. Crain advises that Congress seriously consider solutions instead of waiting until the last moment and deciding hastily. A 2009 study published by Tobbits.com indicates that the number of hybrid automobiles on America’s roads grew by nearly 1.6 million. If the trend continues, the Interstate Highway System and Highway Trust Fund difficulties will only increase.

Sources

American Trails

The Washington Post