Gas prices got you down?

Gas prices got you down?   

Publication: Charleston Daily Mail
Release Date: 05/29/08
Contact: Justin D. Anderson

A state transportation advocacy group wants motorists to know just how much they're contributing to the upkeep of the West Virginia road system through the 32-cent gasoline tax. The non-profit West Virginians for Better Transportation has posted a gas tax calculator on its Web site to make sure that everyone's educated on where they stand in the ongoing gas tax debate.

The calculator can be found at: www.keepwestvirginiamoving.org.

One thing's for sure: The more gas-guzzling your vehicle is and the further your commute, the state ought to name a stretch of road after you.

Say, for instance, you live in Hurricane, commute five days a week to Charleston and your vehicle gets 20 miles to the gallon.

The gas tax calculator says you pay 59 cents per day on the state gas tax. That's $213 a year.

"It's just to make people aware of how much of the roughly $4 a gallon is going into the maintenance of these highways," said Joe Deneault, chairman of West Virginians for Better Transportation.

A gallon of regular gas today in West Virginia averaged $4.02, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. That's up from an average cost of $3.67 a gallon a month ago.

But the gas tax remains at 32 cents. Deneault said his group believes some motorists might be surprised at how much in state gas taxes they're actually paying because of the sticker shock at the pump. Some may be surprised at how little.

Like if you live up on top of Loudon Heights Road, commute five days a week to downtown Charleston and drive a fuel-efficient car that gets 30 miles to the gallon.  You're paying about 2 cents per day in the state gas tax, or about $8 a year, according to the gas tax calculator.

All state gas tax revenue is deposited into the state Road Fund, which is used to maintain and pave roads and bridges.

The Road Fund is also used to match federal grant funding for roads and to install guardrails and other safety measures.

West Virginians for Better Transportation estimates that poorly maintained roads can cost drivers an average of $229 a year in repairs to their vehicles.

Deneault said his group doesn't take a stance one way or the other on the state gas tax. Some have called on Gov. Joe Manchin to suspend it to help people adjust to the high gas costs.

"Our deep concern is that people understand that there's an importance to our highway system and that somehow we're going to have to figure out how to support that highway system," he said.

State tax officials told lawmakers during interim meetings this month that the high gas prices in April caused gas tax collections to come in at around $30.5 million, about $2.35 million less than what was projected and around $1.3 million less than April last year.

That news prompted Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, to say the Legislature should start looking for other ways to fund the state's highways.

Total gas tax collections for the current fiscal year are projected at around $380 million. But the state estimates its roads need about $25 billion worth of repairs.