Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Gas Tax

American Roads Depend on Handouts From Bus Riders, Cyclists, Pedestrians

2:46 PM EDT on May 5, 2015

Paying for roads costs everyone, whether they drive or not. Chart: US PIRG
Paying for roads costs everyone, not just people who drive. Graphic: U.S. PIRG
Paying for roads costs everyone, whether they drive or not. Chart: US PIRG

Once upon a time in America, the road system was largely funded by the gas tax. But that was many Highway Trust Fund bailouts ago.

User fees have made up a declining share or road funding as general taxes have increased. Graph: US PIRG
Gas taxes, tolls, and other fees on driving account for a rapidly declining share of road spending. Graph: US PIRG
User fees have made up a declining share or road funding as general taxes have increased. Graph: US PIRG

Today, only about half the money spent on the U.S. road system comes from fuel taxes, tolls, or other fees paid by drivers, according to a new report [PDF] by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Taxes with no relation to the amount people drive -- property taxes and sales taxes, for instance -- account for about 42 percent of road and highway spending, PIRG reports. Another 10 percent comes from bonding, and given elected officials' deep reluctance to raise gas taxes, a lot of those bonds won't be paid off by drivers.

Between 1947 and 2012, the total subsidy for American roads amounted to about $1 trillion, according to PIRG's analysis of data from the Federal Highway Administration. On an annual basis, the road subsidy has only been getting larger recently, as inflation eats away at gas tax revenues and cars become increasingly fuel efficient. Today, drivers cover roughly 50 percent of spending on roads, compared to 70 percent in the 1970s.

The average American household now supports the U.S. road system to the tune of between $1,100 and $1,848 per year in sales taxes, property taxes, and other indirect subsidies, such as the cost of traffic collisions to government agencies, according to PIRG.

"Our transportation finance system resembles a 'users pay' model less than at any time in modern history," write authors Tony Dutzik, Gideon Weissman, and Phineas Baxandall. "The conclusion is inescapable: all of us, regardless of how much we drive, now bear the cost of our roads."

In fact, federal, state, and local governments spend more money subsidizing roads than they spend on transit, biking, and walking combined, PIRG finds.

So, keep this research handy the next time someone tells you that America's transportation system is paid for by drivers whose money gets diverted to other priorities like transit and biking. The truth is that we all pay for roads, whether we drive or not.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Getting Warmer

EVs and renewables are not going to be enough to stave off a climate catastrophe, scientists are warning officials at an international conference.

December 5, 2023

How (And Why) To Start a Delivery Bike Revolution

Delivery vans and trucks are responsible for nearly a third of urban emissions, and a lot of congestion and traffic violence, too. Here's how cities can replace many of them with clean, safe cargo bikes.

December 5, 2023

“Watch Out, Amsterdam”: Santa Monica Cuts Ribbon Opening Ambitious Curb-Protected 17th Street Bikeway

Santa Monica's recently completed 17th Street bikeway improvements have a "region leading design" featuring Southern California's first protected "Dutch-style" intersections, plus concrete curb protection, and makes great connections to the city's growing bikeway network.

December 4, 2023

Monday’s Headlines Are For the Children

For the 1 billion children who live in cities worldwide, the streets are too dangerous for them to play outside.

December 4, 2023
See all posts