‘That’s insane!’: Washington could soon replace gas tax with controversial pay-per-mile program

After over a decade of debate, the Washington State Transportation Commission is still considering ending the gas tax and replacing it with a pay-per-mile program. On Tuesday, the commission released findings from a test pilot program in which roughly 1,000 local drivers participated.

The argument in support of making the switch is that nowadays there are more fuel-efficient cars on the road and more electric vehicles. Subsequently, the gas tax produces less revenue used to fix state roads. The pay-per-mile program would change that. Plug in or gas up, it doesn’t matter. The more you drive the more you pay.

Not all drivers we spoke with were keen on that. Especially those living further out from the Seattle area, like Rosie Turner. She’s moving from Bellevue to Federal Way.

“They shouldn’t do that,” said Turner. “I mean, paying by the mile. That’s insane!”

The commission’s study found that 54%, roughly half of respondents had security concerns. Roughly 88% of participating drivers opted to self-report mileage instead of using a GPS monitoring system.

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