The Era of Pay-Per-Mile Driving Has Begun

In 1919, Oregon became the first state to implement a gas tax — a penny a gallon fee that was supposed to pay for new roads and maintain the muddy ones that already existed. Now it's the first state to (at least kind of) say goodbye to it.

This weekend the Oregon legislature passed a bill to replace the state's gas tax program with a "pay per-mile road usage charge" often known as a vehicle-miles traveled (or VMT) tax. Drivers who make the switch will pay 1.5 cents for every mile they drive instead of 30 cents per gallon at the pump. The extent of the current law in greatly limited — participation will be voluntary and capped at 5,000 drivers — but its potential as a model for the country is not.