By Timothy Cama, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the Dec. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
The cost of all-electronic tolling is about the same as the cost of collecting fuel tax, and could result in more money available for highway infrastructure improvements, the Reason Foundation said in a study released last week.
The libertarian think tank said the report bucks the “widely believed” notion that fuel tax collection costs about 1% of the revenue it raises. Instead, the report, which drew mixed reactions from transportation groups, claims fuel taxes and electronic tolling each cost about 5% of the revenue they raise, Reason said.
“These findings have major implications for the future of highway finance and funding,” Bob Poole, Reason’s director of transportation policy and the project manager for the study, said in a Nov. 27 statement announcing the research.