Officials Pitch Wishful Thinking as Fact in Washington State Plan to Reduce Driving: NMA E-Newsletter #626
By guest writer Mariya Frost, Director, Coles Center for Transportation Washington Policy Center Editor’s note: This post first appeared on the Washington Policy Center Blog. The state Department of Commerce is very clear about its views on driving: officials must reduce or altogether eliminate people’s need to drive. In their latest draft of the state energy […]
Is it Really Tough Times for Toll Roads Ahead?
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director The website Chief Investment Officer posted in June a lament for how tough it is for toll roads right now. Here’s a quote, “The typically stable asset class has been hit as traffic levels have dropped 40 percent to 85 percent globally, S&P analysts say.” So the website tells […]
Hammer Down! Highway Speed Limits Increase in Arkansas
By Thomas Beckett, Arkansas NMA Member Initially, I had wanted to write my next post on how Amendment 100 would be implemented. This amendment entails casino gambling and how those casino taxes will be assessed and distributed to support highway funding. Instead of how the casino taxes will help fund infrastructure in Arkansas, I decided […]
Contact Tracing in the Time of COVID-19 Crisis
Written by Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director with Joe Cadillic, MassPrivatel Blog The Street Surveillance Watch Blog comes to you biweekly on the National Motorists Association Blog. If you have comments or suggestions, write a comment after this blog or contact us at nma@motorists.org. Contact Tracing in the Time of COVID-19 Crisis Disturbing surveillance trends […]
Tesla all over the Map and other Auto Tech Watch News for February 9, 2020
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director The electric car company Tesla run by CEO Elon Musk seemed to pull in a great deal of news the past several weeks. The biggest was probably this story: Tesla, which has never had a profitable year, is now worth more than GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. Combined. The […]
Virginia Tax Relief—Right!
Car dealers are amateurs when it comes to the bait-and-switch. The true masters of this art are politicians such as Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. He tantalizes empty-pocketed taxpayers whose pockets are empty, with lower taxes in exchange for higher ones. Of course, he doesn’t quite put it that way, much less explain what he’s up to, […]
Driving in America: Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates Update
Editor’s Note: The National Motorists Association and the Alliance for Toll-free Interstates or ATFI are in agreement about tolls. ATFI recently emailed this newsletter out to supporters, outlining the latest tolling in America news from the summer and fall of 2019. The NMA has permission to repost its email newsletter in the Driving in America […]
The Road User Charge by Any Other Name: NMA E-Newsletter #555
We recently completed a series of newsletters (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) about the renewed calls for levying a set of surcharges–or thinly disguised taxes–on motorists to help rescue the Federal Highway Trust Fund. National calls are picking up in momentum for the implementation of a system of travel fees layered on top […]
Are We Slinking Ever Closer to a Universal Road User Charge? Part 3—Regional and Local Efforts: NMA E-Newsletter #551
In Parts One and Two of this series, Are We Slinking Ever Closer to a Universal Road User Charge?, we explored what is happening on the national level and in Congress respectively. Road User Charges (RUC) are also called Vehicle Miles Traveled Tax (VMT) or Mileage-Based User Fees (MBUF). A number of states are experimenting […]
Are We Slinking Ever Closer to a Universal Road User Charge? Part 2—Congress: NMA E-Newsletter #550
Last week, in Part one of Are We Slinking Ever Closer to a Universal Road User Charge?, we examined the efforts of various groups that are currently pushing road user fees onto the American public. (A road user charge or RUC is also commonly referred to as the Vehicle Miles Traveled Tax or VMT Tax […]