Category: Balanced Transportation

Is Wisconsin building roads for traffic that won’t ever be there? We’re driving less. So why does Wisconsin keep spending more and more on roads — and not just to maintain the infrastructure we have but actually to build new, wider highways? This is the question being put to policymakers by Bruce Speight, director of the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, and Steve Hiniker, executive director of the environmental advocacy group 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin State Journal in a news article this week states that the state will be short $15.3 billion over the next decade” largely because more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids and electric cars, are eroding state revenues from the gas tax, the largest source of state transportation funding.” These statements have been repeated by DOT officials, media publications and transportation professionals – blaming more efficient cars and electric vehicles for the precipitous fall in state transportation revenues. While this is no-doubt true, this is definitely not the main reason why fuel tax revenues are dropping.