California is offering drivers $400 gift cards to test its alternative to the gas tax

Yahoo! News

By Grace Toohey / Los Angeles Times

May 14, 2024

California officials are still trying to figure out how to pay for road repairs and maintenance in the not-so-distant future, when electric vehicles dominate the roadways and gas tax revenue dries up.

So they're offering drivers up to $400 to test a couple of alternatives for six months, starting in August. The pilot program is open to drivers of all vehicle types, gasoline-powered or otherwise.

Road improvements are financed mainly through the state's comparatively high excise tax on fuels (about 58 cents a gallon for gasoline and 44 cents a gallon for diesel). Approximately 80% of highway and road repairs are funded by the state gas tax, according to the California Department of Transportation.

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