Description
Analysis completed by King County in 2020 found that along with increased transit service and land use density, pricing vehicle travel via congestion pricing, tolling, a road usage charge, parking pricing, or similar tools is necessary to achieve goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled. King County will advocate for Washington State to develop equitable road and vehicle pricing, and road use charges from which the revenue generated is flexible and can be used to support transit and other multimodal investments to best meet the needs of the community and help achieve climate goals.
Washington State gas tax has been the primary revenue source to maintain, improve and expand the roadway (highway/local streets) in Washington State and is restricted to roadway uses. The State is looking towards implementing new revenue sources to replace the gas tax due to declining revenues as vehicles become more fuel efficient and more drivers transition to EVs. The State has investigated the creation of a road usage charge-a per-mile charge based on the number of miles driven rather than by the gallon of gas. The needs of the transportation system and the communities that it serves have changed since the gas tax was first enacted and new transportation revenue sources should be designed to meet these needs.