The Washington State Transportation Commission is trying to put its state-wide gas tax in the rear-view mirror with a pilot program.
Some drivers in Surrey could also be asked be part of the project, which is set to kick off in 2018.
As many as 200 out-of-state residents, including Canadians, could be asked to take part.
Executive Director Reema Griffith says if the test for mobility pricing is successful, the State gas tax will be phased out.
“The situation in Washington State is we have highly leveraged our gas tax and bonded against it. Every time our legislature raises the gas tax, they bond it pretty heavily. We’ve got a lot of debt against that.”
Under the program, participants in the pilot project won’t actually get a gas-tax discount or actual bill for road use; instead, the state will send them mock invoices, simulating what they would owe if road pricing was actually in effect.
The project started because the state noticed it was losing revenue with cars becoming more fuel efficient.
“Fossil fuel clearly is not something that the automakers seem to want to remain reliant on, in terms of the kinds of cars they plan to start selling to consumers over the next five to 10 years,” says Griffith.
“When you look at those tea leaves, you basically see it’s not a matter of if, but when a gas tax, a consumption-based tax, is going to become obsolete.”
Currently, drivers in Washington pay an extra 49 cents per gallon ($0.13 per litre) at the pump.
If the pilot project is successful, the charge would become 2.4 cents per mile (1.5 cents per kilometre) driven.
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