This summer, Oregon’s legislature passeda bill creating a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) fee. This is a big step, as a fee like this has been discussed on and off for years as an alternative to gas taxes, which are bringing in less revenue as people drive less.
The creator of the program, Jim Whitty from the Oregon Department of Transportation, was in Washington, D.C. recently to talk to Congress and others about the program. While there, a reporter from D.C. Streets Blog interviewed him on the privacy concerns associated with tracking how many miles someone drives, who is taking part in the program and if everyone will eventually be required to track their mileage, if a VMT fee better match the needs of the system than gas taxes and why anyone would voluntarily participate in the program. Here are the (very interesting) answers to those questions, and more.