U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MM), ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, proposed using the new U.S. Postal Service (USPS) vehicle fleet to test a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) user fee on a national scale.
The modernized USPS fleet will include electric vehicles, reducing gas consumption. Reduced gas consumption would mean reduced gas tax revenue. Graves argues that as the country continues to move toward electrification, the country should also move away from funding infrastructure funding through gas and diesel taxes and towards VMT user fees.
“It’s become abundantly clear that we need to move on from the gas tax and diesel tax as the primary means of building infrastructure. For years, I have been talking about the need to eliminate the gas and diesel taxes completely and transition to a VMT system, so we get the long-term sustainable funding for transformative investments in infrastructure in a fiscally responsible way,” Graves said. “Although critics will say that we’re not ready for VMT, we’ve heard that same argument for too long. The Highway Trust Fund continues to lose more and more revenue because not all users are paying their fair share given increased fuel efficiency and electric vehicle technology. But the fact is, we’re ready to move forward. We’ve seen enormous progress at the state and regional level, where multiple pilot programs for VMT systems and alternative revenue collection programs have demonstrated success.”
Graves said the USPS fleet offers the ability to test a VMT system through a large, nationwide fleet of vehicles covering a wide spectrum of diversity from densely populated cities to rural communities.
“It’s time to move this solution toward reality, but in doing so, we must ensure that privacy concerns are addressed and that we do not layer one user fee on top of another. I believe the gas tax, diesel tax, and other related fees that currently go into the Highway Trust Fund should be completely replaced by a VMT user fee,” he said. “As a conservative, I strongly believe in the user-pays principle, and I believe that we need to start ensuring that all users pay their fair share for the roads they’re using.”