The Less You Drive, the More You Save

Planning to drive a mile? You may soon be charged $.0025 for it! Massachusetts is one of a few states considering a quarter-cent surcharge for every mile driven in a state. It's like a gas tax, but creepier (because based on actual mileage determined by Big-Brother-esque GPS) and crappier (because charging by mile reduces the incentive to get a fuel-efficient car). Deval Patrick says he prefers solutions that are "faster, cheaper, simpler"; this one doesn't appear to fit any of those criteria, as it'd cost time and money to implement, and create more data for the state to track. Oregon has a program that works something like ours would, but the state paid people to participate in it, charged a fee based on recorded mileage, and then reduced the gas tax to compensate for the fee charged. Doesn't sound cheap or simple. A similar system has been used in London, with one appealing feature: drivers have to pay more money to drive during rush hour. Incentive to use public transportation or just stay off the roads is always a plus, but this charge-by-mile thing has a lot of kinks to work out before it'll look useful in any way.