Higher gas tax in California can cost extra 20 cents a day

Q What is the real cost of the new gas tax to the average California family? I am hearing widely divergent claims.

The pro-gas tax people say it will cost the average family under $80 per year while the con side says $500. I imagine the real story is somewhere in between.

— Mike Bernal, Morgan Hill

A

It is. For a car driving 15,000 miles per year and getting 25 miles per gallon, the additional annual cost of the 12 cents per gallon tax would be $72 or 20 cents per day. But the new gas tax bill also raised registration fees $25 for a car under $5,000 while those valued up to $25,000 will pay an extra $50. Drivers of luxury cars will pay as much as $175 more.

Of course, your driving habits — speeding, rapid acceleration, hard braking and other aggressive anti-Roadshow behavior — can lower mileage by as much as 30 percent at highway speeds and 40 percent in stop-and-go traffic. Each 5 mph you drive over 50 mph is like paying an additional 2025 cents for a gallon for gas.

Q

Roads in poor repair are terrible to drive on but fixing roads (a prime example is Foxworthy Avenue in San Jose) encourages drivers to speed. Poor roads may be bad for cars but are better for the residents living on those streets.

— Sue Yeager, San Jose

A

Well, that’s another view.

Q

So where is all the road repair we were promised? The higher gas tax been in place for over six months and we were told work would begin immediately. So far all I see are lots and lots of road signs saying that road work is happening but that’s all that’s happened, lots of signs and no progress. What gives?

— Linda Wuy

A

Some work has started and if efforts to repeal the gas tax fail, much more is coming. San Jose may earmark $13 million for maintenance on 23 miles of its busiest streets beginning in June. Nearly $7 million will come from the higher taxes on gas and next year, the city is expected to receive $17.5 million for work on more streets.

I n addition, survey work to raise bridge decks at the MacArthur Maze has begun, while repaving Interstate 80 near Highway 4 and Highway 85 north of 101 in South San Jose is high on the list, along with restriping 101 on the Peninsula.

Q

I would be able to accept the 12 cents a gallon gas tax hike if our politicians would find an efficient means to fairly tax the rapidly growing electric vehicle fleet in our state. Right now, it appears they are using public roads for free.

— Paul Prickett, San Jose

A

A $100 fee will be charged to owners of EVs starting in two years.

Follow Gary Richards at Twitter.com/ mrroadshow, look for him at Facebook.com/ mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@ bayareanewsgroup.com.

Contact Gary Richards at grichards@ bayareanewsgroup.com or 408-920-5037.