Per-mile fee is next for state drivers

I had to chuckle when I read Edward Masar’s letter in the Oct. 8 Herald concerning the $75 additional car tab fee he will have to pay on his hybrid. That is just the beginning friend. If he had followed the shenanigans of the transportation committees in the House and Senate as well as the Washington State Transportation Commission, he would know that soon all vehicle owners will also be paying a state mileage fee.

This fee and its method of collection have been under study for some time. It could require that we have a tracking device installed in our vehicles and that it will track where we drive and when. The data will be collected and the fee-per mile-will be charged to our license tab.

The data will be collected by a company. The best part of this is that the gas taxes will remain in place. So Edward will get to pay for use of his hybrid three times, once for his electric vehicle tab, once for the tax on the gas he uses and once for the mileage fee. The really sad part of this is that the state will always know when and where we go and ultimately how fast we drove to get there. So, Edward enjoy what is left of your privacy while you can.

Dennis Cziske

Snohomish

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