Spending federal transportation funds on improving road and highway maintenance is either a somewhat or very important priority for 92 percent of respondents to the Mineta Transportation Institute’s (MTI) 14th annual survey.
The survey explored public priorities for the federal transportation program and assessed public support for the idea of adopting a new federal mileage fee.
Other findings included that 71 percent would support raising the federal gas tax if revenue was dedicated to maintaining streets, roads, and highways; 59 percent think low-income drivers should pay a lower mileage fee rate than higher-income drivers; 53 percent think electric vehicles should pay a lower mileage-fee rate than gas and diesel vehicles, and 51 percent support the idea of replacing the gas tax with a green mileage fee.
“A supermajority of the survey respondents, 70 percent, said they would support raising the federal gas tax rate to make roads and highways safer,” study co-author Dr. Asha Weinstein Agrawal, said. “Perhaps that is because, sadly, so many have experienced collisions.”
The Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University is a university transportation center funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation, and public and private grants. It works to improve the safety, efficiency, accessibility, and convenience of the transportation system.