Via the Streetsblog network.
The Dutch cabinet has agreed to reduce vehicle ownership taxes and impose a new tax based on kilometers driven (complete with GPS tracking – privacy protections are promised). The new tax will be higher during peak driving hours.
The government is predicting reductions in both emissions and congestion.
6 responses to “Dutch Move to VMT Tax”
Could we just modify our EPA standards so that high mpg autos are available? How about saving the consumer money instead of tracking their moves?
Ron, you’ve mentioned EPA standards a couple of times in the past few days… what EPA standards prohibit the sale of high-MPG autos?
Or are you referring to standards which limit or prohibit certain kinds of pollution, which in practical application causes a drop in MPG?
Put another way, are you advocating for allowing increases in certain forms of air pollution, in order to also allow for higher-MPG autos to be sold? If so, what kinds of air pollution should we tolerate in order to achieve a goal of higher MPG?
(PS… I’m with you on not wanting mandates for the installation of GPS tracking systems.)
I’m not sure what I am for—since diesel pollution can still be a problem. However, there are now cars like the Ford Fiesta that can get 60 mpg on diesel. Yet many of these fail the EPA parts per million standards. I have also seen reports of other vehicles, available in other countries, that fail US standards, even though there mileage range is very high.
What I have been reading lately, is that it is not just the EPA standards, but also the high standards of states like California that serve to prevent their importation. Some of them, like the German LOREMO, also do not pass the US safety standards.
At 60 mpg, a biodiesel blend could be feasible. That would bring the inherent particulate pollution down even further. So we could have personal autos that emit perhaps 20 percent or less of current diesel vehicles, such as diesel luxury cars. The Ford Fiesta looks to be about the same size as the Focus. So it is not overly tiny like the LOREMO or Smart car.
I have also read recently about the Mazda flex fuel rotary engine, which apparently they developed several years ago, and are now selling in limited quantities to governmental bodies, etc. It has a unique and more efficient usage of hydrogen—I can’t explain it. But also uses gasoline.
Ford’s idea in the ethanol boosted Bobcat engine could also be a solution for heavier freight type vehicles. Not sure of what happens to these concepts—but I know they are out there.
The greencarcongress.com has hundreds of articles. I think the trend has been established towards consumer demand for fuel efficiency. I wouldn’t write off personal vehicles and road usage. Safety will still be a big concern. However, trucks on highways pose the biggest challenge there. Another reason to get more interstate freight on to rail and improve/expand truck freight routes within the Portland area.
Is this 200 mpg VW coming:
http://www.worldcarfans.com/1080701823/top-secret-volkswagen-to-launch-one-liter-eco-car-in-2010
Per mileage based taxes are by far the most equitable. I’d love to see VMT based insurance become more prevalent, and I know it’s legal in Oregon now!
How about a pound-mile tax for the importation of transportation components? So a light rail vehicle manufactured in Canada or Europe would pay a bigger tax than a bicycle built in Mexico. US made products pay none.