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Washington State has joined an Oregon study to look at the possibility of taxing drivers for every mile they drive. (Photo: MyNorthwest.com/File)

Washington and Oregon will make you pay by the mile

BY Jillian Raftery  on February 14, 2013 @ 4:08 pm (Updated: 4:33 pm - 2/14/13 )

Dori is saying "I told you so" to those who thought there was no way that Washington State would follow Oregon in promoting pay-by-mile driving fees. But he told you, and he was right: Washington is now testing how the program would work if applied broadly to all drivers.

Twenty volunteers in Washington have joined Portland's pilot program to gather data for the Washington State Department of Transportation, which is considering a similar tax program.

Participants in the pilot install a device that tracks their driving and get a monthly bill for one-and-a-half cents per mile driven.

Just because there's a pilot program doesn't mean it's going to happen. But Dori sees the move as a dangerous next step in our surveillance culture.

"They want to put a GPS device on every car in this state," said Dori. "They want to be able to track where you drive, when you drive, and you will be charged for every mile you drive."

Washington residents already pay some of the highest gas taxes in the country, but with more fuel efficient vehicles, the gas tax isn't cutting it to cover the cost of building and maintaining roads.

Meanwhile, a group of Washington mayors are pushing Olympia for even more taxes. They asked the legislature for increased gas taxes, motor vehicle excise taxes, and vehicle license fees.

Jillian Raftery, Social Media Captain
Jillian Raftery is a social media captain for the Dori Monson Show. She loves the neighborly vibe of the Pacific Northwest and spends as much time as possible outdoors.
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Comments (26)


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  • Sean wrote...
    Ridiculous!
    February 15, 2013 8:48 am
    Way too much Big Brother in this plan, and way too slippery a slope. If they truly need to adjust tax rates to adjust for lost taxes due to increased fuel economy in modern cars -- which in itself does make sense -- then instead of implementing this entirely new program and technology -- obviously an expensive measure in itself -- just put a committee together of RESPONSIBLE politicians (I know... I know) to determine how much to FAIRLY raise EXISTING gas taxes. Done deal. No big brother, no spy in the sky, no slipper slope. a reasonable solution to this problem could be a he11 of a lot more simple than this per-mile monitoring system idea.
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  • HLC wrote...
    There is still that easy fix.
    February 15, 2013 9:26 am
    Quit funding public transportation and turn it over to private companys. Problem solved. Less overpaid government workers and income from the fees to private companys. It's so simple even a cave man could do it.
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  • HikerACE wrote...
    Major flaw HLC
    February 16, 2013 5:19 pm
    You are presuming the representatives (I know, they don't know the meaning of representative) are smarter than a caveman.
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  • messiah101 wrote...
    HLC
    February 18, 2013 6:53 am
    Yes and then the "private" company will set up its own toll roads.You far Rightys believe privatization is the cure for almost every societal problem,schools,the mail,highways,prisons,have you ever thought that business would simply skim the cream ?You only need to look at how Big Oil works they operate only the most profitable wells and don't go after the tougher oil wells or don't pump some that are already drilled.
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    The issue does raise a valid question
    February 18, 2013 1:14 pm
    We fund our roads with taxes collected on the sale of gasoline. As more vehicles take to the roads that use no gasoline, and gasoline powered vehicles use a lot less fuel per mile than they did just several years ago, how do we make sure there will be roads, in good repair, for vehicles using either little or no gas?
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  • Rangerhawk wrote...
    I guess a marijuana tax just won't cover it eh?
    February 19, 2013 11:01 pm
    What happened to making the rich folk pay for it all? Idiots!
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