In a letter to Senate Finance Committee leaders, the American Trucking Associations encouraged Congress to include “common-sense funding mechanisms” in future surface transportation legislation this year and to forget about trucking-only taxes and fees as a resolution to infrastructure funding problems.
“Any discriminatory funding schemes, like a truck-only vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax, will be met with resolute opposition by the industry, and must be dismissed as a misguided and prejudiced funding gimmick.”
Recent state efforts to institute truck-only tolls have been met with a backlash by industry groups. A federal appeals court has backed the trucking industry in its legal fight to end Rhode Island’s truck tolls. Connecticut has been monitoring the Rhode Island case as the neighboring state has also tried to pursue a toll system that applies only to commercial truck traffic.
In the letter, ATA notes that the trucking industry already pays half of all revenue in the Highway Trust Fund, despite representing only 4% of registered vehicles and 9% of miles traveled, and the industry is willing to pay even more. However, ATA discourages plans that would “place the burden of supporting our infrastructure solely on the back of the trucking industry.”
