One of the strongest voices in Congress calling for replacing the gas tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) user fee is proposing the U.S. Postal Service as the place to test the idea.
“The final step necessary to begin a full conversion to a VMT system is to test it in an interoperable, national setting,” Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri and ranking member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement Friday.
“The USPS operates a large, nationwide fleet of vehicles that covers the spectrum from our most densely populated cities to every corner of rural America. We need a national testbed for VMT, and this could provide an ideal opportunity to test a much-needed replacement for the obsolete gas tax that we rely on to build our roads and bridges.”
Graves’ proposal comes as Congress gets ready to draw up a long-awaited infrastructure plan and a reauthorization of a long-term highway funding bill. Crucial to the package will be negotiating how to pay for it.