Taxing California drivers by the mile is unfair

Currently, California drivers pay for roadway upkeep and repair through taxes on gasoline. The California Legislature’s idea to instead charge car and truck drivers by the number of miles they drive seems like a terrible idea (“Volunteers wanted: California will study pay-by-mile road fee,” March 18).

I have recently been driving on freeways in the Los Angeles area. The right-hand slow lane on those freeways is usually in deplorable condition compared with the other lanes. Why is this? I’m sure that most of the difference is because of the number of huge trucks that punish the freeway, leaving it with potholes, tire fragments and grooves that make driving very uncomfortable for smaller vehicles.

The trucks get many fewer miles per gallon and now pay proportionally more tax per mile driven. According to the State Board of Equalization website (https://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/l413.pdf), current gasoline sales and excise taxes are $0.35 per gallon, and diesel taxes are $0.335 per gallon. This effectively forces inefficient diesel users to pay much more per mile traveled, and to partially make up for the increased damage that they do to roads. A system that charges by the number of miles driven would be grossly unfair to the drivers of fuel-efficient cars and other small vehicles.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Taxing California drivers by the mile is unfair."