Electric cars don't use gasoline, meaning they don't pay gas taxes - that's why Utah is experimenting with putting a new pseudo "gas tax" on electric cars to make up the difference. Many states in America fund the upkeep of their roads by directly funneling the money from fuel taxes. Vehicles that use alternatives evade this, and while they aren’t making up a significant amount of cars on the road, the trend is leaning towards them becoming more popular.
Electric vehicle, or EV, is a blanket term that encompasses any automobile that doesn’t need to run on conventional fuels like gasoline or diesel. Right now, EV covers the three main types, which are broken up by how much they depend on electricity and how it is utilized. BEVs are battery-powered electric vehicles, PHEVs are plug-in hybrids and HEV are hybrid electric vehicles.
Utah has provided electric vehicle owners with a couple of alternatives, the first is a raise in vehicle registration fees. Each of the three main types of electric vehicles will be more expensive to register in upcoming years, with a BEV being $90 in 2020 but $120 in 2021, which will see the highest increase. Alternately, electric car owners can join a program that attaches a tracker to the car that will bill the driver for the number of miles driven in Utah at a rate of 1.5c/mile until the total price matches the registration fee.
Even with the increased charges from Utah’s government, running an EV will continue to be less expensive as time progresses. Megan Guess of ArsTechnica wrote a story explaining the cost benefits of electric vehicles. In a study run by the University of Leeds, researchers looked into the total cost of ownership, or TCO of low-emissions vehicles, internal combustion engine vehicles, and electric vehicles, “Costs were found to be cheaper for electric vehicles due to less wear on the breaks and fewer moving parts,” and especially when combined with not needing to pay for gas. Utah’s Road Usage Charge program is designed so that Utah gets something for their roads. According to Utah’s government, a conventional sedan pays $301 in fuel tax, and a gas hybrid pays $150 total, entirely electric vehicles do not pay any fuel tax currently.
While paying $120 upfront could hurt, it shouldn’t sway minds from purchasing an electric car. The annual fee can be spread out by Utah’s Alternate Road Usage Charge program, and this could easily be adopted in other places. While it’s a long time away, eventually there will be enough vehicles running on alternative fuels that a gas tax will not be enough to fund road repair and transportation.
Source: ArsTechnica
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