California launches pilot to charge drivers by miles, possibly replacing gas tax

The first comment there on Reddit from Regayov nails it: „ I don’t think politicians have the same definition of the word “replace” that their constituents do. What they really mean is “in addition to”.“<p>The link to the article: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.autoblog.com&#x2F;2024&#x2F;05&#x2F;26&#x2F;california-launching-pilot-program-to-charge-drivers-for-miles-driven&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.autoblog.com&#x2F;2024&#x2F;05&#x2F;26&#x2F;california-launching-pil...</a>

&gt; In theory, drivers would be able to choose how the state tracks their mileage. They could hook up an electronic device to their car, use the car&#x27;s built-in tracking system or send Caltrans a picture of the odometer.<p>So they just want to track where everybody is going unless you opt out? How long until they mandate the tracking device in new vehicles?

This sounds like a regressive tax, since lower income workers often have much longer commutes.

We need to pivot to this. As hybrid and battery electric vehicles become more common we&#x27;re essentially defunding a range of services that depend on gas tax revenue.<p>Now we can come up with an alternative way of generating revenue, but what is clear is that the gas tax itself is no longer effective and sustainable.

Sounds like someone who works from home and drives a heavy premium vehicle for short distances comes out on top here. Pays little for miles driven, and not penalized for the relatively higher wear and tear per mile.

I&#x27;d like to see them charging for all miles driven, not just those in-state. Do that by getting the owner to report the car odometer value every year and charging for however much it went up.<p>Stop cheating by having existing numberplate recognition cameras keep a log of the distance you must have driven and investigating if you reported a lower number than they saw you do. Also have any police pullover reporting the number at the time of the stop.