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Comment by roland35 | Hacker News Reader

There has to be a better way to tax road usage. I pay extra for my EV as well, but I suppose the state’s argument is that the odometer reading could include mileage in other states. But that would still benefit your home state… so I don’t know.

My state requires a check for all vehicles older than 4 years which includes a obd2 scan, so they probably already have this data

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The whole premise of tracking usage is bogus. The point of public goods is that we can’t value individual benefit or prevent free riders so we publicly fund them. Roads are the quintessential public good.

Think about it this way. If you never leave your house you’re still using roads. All your goods are delivered via truck. Your trash is hauled away via roads, your mail is delivered. Home repairs need roads to access your house.

There’s no way your road trip in your Kia is putting more wear on the roads than all of those things.

They should go after SUVs. They weigh as much (or more), use far more gas, obliterate anything they crash into (smaller cars and pedestrians), and they get a fucking IRS tax deduction.

you know most SUVs are really sedans with tall cabins? All crossovers are sedan unibody chassis. Here is a list of truck SUVs, which have actual frames.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/which-2022-suvs-built-on-truck-...

I agree SUVs are wasteful in general, but EVs are actually pretty heavy too!

Doubly for EV SUVs.

New York State gives EVs and plugin EVs discounts on tolls (and maybe reg fees), but looking at the list, some of the SUVs have an eMPG in the 40s.

Meanwhile your non-plugin Corolla Hybrid, doesn’t get a discount, gets a 50mpg mileage.

And those plugin SUVs can drop to under 25mpg (some under 20!) if you don’t plug them in.

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Drive-Clean-Rebate-F...

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=noform...

> There has to be a better way to tax road usage.

There is, tax vehicles based on weight. The EV advocates don't seem to like this idea however.

They should like the idea: when properly designed, EVs don't weight more than ICE peers.

Take the latest Model 3 Performance: 4054 pounds, 296 miles on a charge. The 2024 BMW M3? 3840 pounds.

The Tesla beats the BMW on every metric and has plenty of range. Yet, it weighs less than 5% more than the BMW hybrid.

You can also compare the standard Model 3 with the 3 series, or the Model Y with the X3. Weigh is not an issue any more and specific energy of new batteries keep getting better. We're only started.

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