Make gas tax increase temporary. Then fix how WA pays for transportation | Editorial

Democratic lawmakers in Olympia want to increase the gas tax. That would hit rural Washingtonians harder than most drivers, but some temporary pocketbook pain is a necessary bridge to a sustainable and equitable funding source for desperately needed infrastructure improvements.

There’s no getting around the fact that gas taxes are regressive. People who live east of the Cascades wind up paying more than their city counterparts because distances between destinations are greater. They also are more likely to drive less-fuel-efficient vehicles like pickup trucks out of necessity.

Higher gas taxes also disproportionately affect low-income households because they cannot afford the newest high-mileage vehicles and so use more gas.

Washington already has one of the highest gas taxes in the country. State senators passed a bill to increase the gas tax by 6 cents to 55.4 cents per gallon. The House is considering a 9-cent increase. Lawmakers also might build in an automatic annual inflation adjustment.

Highways need help, roads need repairs and bridges need bolstering. Communities need more bike lanes and pedestrian routes. Puget Sound’s ferry fleet needs an upgrade.

These are long-term, systemic issues. There’s always another transportation project that needs doing.

But the gas tax, even an increased one with an annual inflation increase, will not keep up. The trend lines are clear: Gas tax revenue is in decline. Higher taxes encourage people to drive less and buy fuel-efficient cars. The state also encourages people to buy electric and hybrid vehicles as part of the fight against climate change.

Rather than a permanent increase, then, lawmakers should pass a temporary gas tax increase that gives the state breathing room to find a better way to pay for transportation needs.

Pulling money from general tax revenue for transportation is all but out of the question. The Legislature already is dealing with a budget in which expenses have outpaced revenue. There will be no appetite for digging the hole deeper.

Instead, lawmakers and experts should focus on user fees like tolls and fares and a miles-driven charge.

Toll roads, perhaps maintained by private operators, work in many other states. They have the advantage of charging all vehicles regardless of whether they are electric- or gas-powered. Vehicle transponders or license plate scanners eliminate the annoyance of stopping to pull out change at toll booths.

Meanwhile, fair usage fees should apply to ferries, too. Folks who choose to live in Bainbridge, Bremerton or Port Ludlow and work in Seattle should not expect the rest of the state to subsidize their lifestyle decision. Modernize the ferry system, but expect the people who benefit most to pay the most.

Perhaps the most effective would be replacing the gas tax with a road usage charge based on how many miles people drive.

Such a system would have the advantage of charging people based on how much they actually drive; not how much they consume. There are challenges, to be sure, not least with privacy and charging out of state drivers, but those are not insurmountable.

Some combination of tolls, fares and mileage charges could provide a steadier, fairer revenue stream that scales with usage rather than consumption.

Washingtonians have shown that they are not averse to paying what is needed to accomplish shared public policy goals. Last year, voters overwhelmingly rejected Initiative 2117, which was pitched as a way to lower gas prices.

That does not mean that they are willing to accept business as usual, though.

The gas tax was fine for the 20th century, but its time has passed.

Before it peters out completely, a modest, temporary increase could provide critical funding for immediate repairs while Washington figures out what must come next to ensure that its transportation infrastructure meets the needs of people and business for the century to come.