Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Gas Tax

Tracing the Fault Lines Between Public and Private Transit Operators

By Elana Schor | May 25, 2010 | No Comments

Should private transit companies enjoy the same federal gas tax exemption that many public operators receive? How does the existence of private inter-city bus service affect the government’s development of new high-speed rail lines? And does it matter that private transit firms are eligible for public subsidies, even if at a much smaller rate than […]

Kerry on Senate Climate Bill: Federal Gas Tax is Staying at 18.4 Cents

By Elana Schor | Apr 21, 2010 | No Comments

The several dozen transportation industry groups that raised questions about where the upcoming Senate climate change bill would send proceeds from its new "linked fee" on carbon fuels can stop worrying — because it looks like the legislation won’t contain any new tax on motor fuels. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) (Photo: Getty) As Sen. John […]

Former U.S. DOT Chief on the Worst-Case Scenario: 4 Years of Extensions

By Elana Schor | Apr 19, 2010 | No Comments

To a certain extent, hope springs eternal in federal transportation circles. Even as state DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations operate under the latest in a series of extensions of the 2005 law that governs road, transit, and bike-ped spending, few are willing to envision a future in which new legislation doesn’t pass by next year. […]

‘Gas Tax’ Sounding Like a Four-Letter Word to the White House and Senate

By Elana Schor | Apr 16, 2010 | No Comments

Transportation groups of all shapes and sizes have been concerned that the Senate’s forthcoming climate bill could set back the prospects for a federal transportation measure by imposing extra carbon fees on Big Oil — which would then be passed on to customers at the pump, effectively increasing the gas tax for purposes other than […]

Nevada Becomes Newest Battleground in Mileage Tax Debate

By Elana Schor | Apr 9, 2010 | No Comments

Nevada’s state DOT is in the early stages of a years-long study aimed at mapping a possible transition from the gas tax to a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee, a shift urged last year by a congressionally chartered panel on infrastructure financing and encouraged by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). In-vehicle GPS units, such as the […]

LaHood Faces Off With GOP Senator Over High-Speed Rail, Livability

By Elana Schor | Mar 4, 2010 | 1 Comment

When Cabinet secretaries appear in front of Congress’ appropriations committees, which control the annual budgets for each federal agency, the proceedings tend to be dry affairs dominated by local concerns and arcane fiscal debates. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) (Photo: Politico) But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s visit with Senate appropriators today was anything but humdrum, as […]

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