Our post about tomorrow’s public hearing on the Oregon Legislature’s 2025 transportation bill didn’t receive a lot of comments. Maybe budgets and numbers are off-putting to many readers.
But reader “mh” wrote a comment I liked, so I waded through the post, its link to one Jonathan’s previous posts, and ultimately to an article economist Joe Cortright posted on his City Observer site earlier this year.
And I’ll be damned if “mh” isn’t saying the same thing as Cortright did! (Only “mh’s” commented is shorter, sweeter, and simpler.)
Basically, “mh” wants to be charged “for the wear we actually put on the roads” (sort of like ODOT already does for large freight trucks). But, as Cortright concludes, ODOT isn’t counting costs, (“the wear” to the roads). No, it’s accounting for its expenditures — how ODOT allocates its money. And ODOT’s expenditure choices reflect the department’s bias toward freeway building rather than maintenance.
But let’s get back to short and sweet. Here’s what “mh” wrote:
(Weight x miles) for every vehicle. For passenger vehicles, weight is the manufacturer’s stated weight, for the first registration you pay based on the average number of miles the average vehicle is driven, on registration renewal you reconcile and the vehicle owner either pays more or is reimbursed. I guarantee I’d be reimbursed. I’ve been proposing this for years, and have yet to see anyone think it’s a good idea.
My little Honda Fit is charged a penalty for being a small, light car. The fact that it is driven very little is ignored – they just assume I owe more because they assume I drive it the 10k or whatever the average miles per year is. We don’t. Let us pay for the wear we actually put on the roads.
I’d happily pay (weight x miles) for my bike commutes if they provide me some way to track my miles, [and] if all the oversized SUVs also pay (weight x miles) for their roadway damage. That would make me a much more serene commuter.
Thank you for the clarity, “mh.” You can read “mh’s” comment in the context of the two other brave souls who wrote in.
And I hope to see you all on Tuesday, at the kick-off of the Joint Committee on Transportation’s statewide listening tour.