Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Do Drivers Cover the Cost of Roads? Not By a Long Shot

This chart shows what percent of different kinds of roads is paid for by the gas tax. Image: Pew Research Center
All charts: Pew Charitable Trusts [PDF]
false

David Alpert at Greater Greater Washington shares this fantastic chart from a new study of transportation funding by the Pew Charitable Trusts [PDF]. Alpert explains:

This chart from Pew shows where the transportation money comes from; it's not all drivers.

Basically, the bluish areas are revenues which come specifically from drivers: gas taxes, vehicle taxes, and tolls. The greenish ones are other revenues: property taxes, general fund transfers, and other funds.

In this chart, you can see that the levels of government that subsidize roads the most -- state and local -- also spend more on transportation overall than the feds:

The federal government shares the costs of building and maintaining roads with state and local governments.
false

And here you can see that at all levels of government, roads get the lion's share of transportation funds:

Elsewhere on the Network today: Human Transit compares commute times in some of the world's major cities. This Old City discusses how U.S. DOT's new guidance on protected bike lanes could improve street safety in Philadelphia. And Treehugger reports that truck sideguards -- a piece of safety equipment that can save pedestrians' and cyclists' lives -- are now required in Boston.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: The Horrors of the Modern High-Tech Car

As more technology wheedles its way into our cars, they get scarier and scarier.

October 31, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Not Ready for Prime Time

Tech companies and automakers keep pushing autonomous vehicles and don't seem to care whether they're safe or not.

October 31, 2025

Pedaling Toward Progress: San Antonio’s Bold Bike Plan in a Car-Centric State

If we can do this in Texas, we can do it anywhere.

October 31, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Getting California High Speed Rail Done

It took a while, but California is figuring out the best, most-cost-effective way to do fast trains.

October 30, 2025

Spooky Stuff: On Halloween, Some States Will Have Deadlier Roads Than Others

Find out how yours ranks — and what policymakers can do to make streets less scary.

October 30, 2025
See all posts