They are without a doubt right about this, eventually. But geez, we're having a hard enough time getting uptake of EVs (especially the non-fascist ones) in this country as it is. Maybe wait until EVs are like 40% of the market first? And encourage that by increasing the petrol excise to compensate in the meantime.
I came here to say more or less this.
While funding road upkeep with fuel and car taxes makes sense it isn't necessary, we don't fund emergency departments with taxes on trampolines and skateboards for example.
The greater policy need at this point in history is to increase the uptake of electric vehicles(really to reduce the use of fossil fuel vehicles in a variety of ways, including uptake of EVs) and future policy should reflect this, not commitment to past policy.
I do really want to emphasise that a user-pays model for cars is a really good one. EVs might be better than ICE vehicles, but they're still really fucking bad. Bad environmentally, because of the plastic pollution from their tyres and because of the enormous amount of mining required in their manufacture. Bad socially, because of the detrimental effect—especially on children—of car-dependent urban planning. Bad for health, because of the decreased physical activity inherent in a car-dependent lifestyle. And bad economically, because of the enormous cost of upkeep of car-dependent infrastructure. The biggest incentives should be for active transport: cycling and walking. And on urban planning and infrastructure to support them. And on public transport for longer trips. User-pays for cars is great because it simultaneously works to discourage the use of cars while also helping in a small way to offset the enormous economic and social costs of their use.
All that just needs to be put in perspective relative to making the EV transition from the even-worse ICE vehicles.
Excellent point well made.
"Road usage" has been taxed through the fuel excise paid at the bowser. This method is far from perfect, but it does allow reasonably anonymous travel.
In the future, the gov't will have (at least) two ways of taxing the road usage of EVs.
One way will be fair, equitable, based on 'mileage', and anonymous.
The other way will permit the government to conduct 'real time' monitoring of every vehicle's speed and position.
Our gov't will choose this second option, and with bipartisan support.
It is. EV's are just slightly less bad cars. They still cause potholes, traffic, high housing costs, noise, and pedestrian deaths.
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