This year, the Vermont Legislature is considering adopting a new Mileage-Based User Fee (MBUF) program, which would raise revenue for Vermont’s Transportation Fund by taxing vehicle miles traveled – starting with electric vehicle (EV) drivers specifically.

The idea of having drivers pay for the state’s transportation system based on the number of miles they drive isn’t a bad one – the issue is the Scott Administration wants to require EV drivers, and only EV drivers, to enroll right from the jump. No state in the country has yet implemented a mandatory MBUF – and every state that has tried out a mileage-based fee like this has piloted it on a voluntary basis to work out the kinks first. The Scott Agency of Transportation wants to make it mandatory — just for EV drivers — from day one.

The MBUF is a potential new and needed source of revenue for the declining Transportation Fund. However, its efficacy depends on design. Roads and bridges need to be funded, and as more Vermonters drive electric, we need new ways to do that fairly. But as currently written, the bill could have the average EV driver paying more than the average gas vehicle driver. That’s not fair. And at a moment when the state should be making electrification more accessible, it sends exactly the wrong signal.

A system where the cleanest, most cost effective and efficient vehicles are paying more than the most polluting and least efficient vehicles flies in the face of our climate targets. VNRC has testified before the Senate Transportation Committee and joined with Conservation Law Foundation, Vermont Conservation Voters, and VPIRG to submit detailed recommendations. Read them below: