Comments on: Raise The Gas Tax 1% Year After Year For 25 Years http://bikeblogs.org/sf/2008/11/26/raise-the-gas-tax-1-year-after-year-for-25-years/ Biking in the Bay Fri, 18 May 2012 11:21:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: David Hembrow http://bikeblogs.org/sf/2008/11/26/raise-the-gas-tax-1-year-after-year-for-25-years/#comment-2473 David Hembrow Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:27:40 +0000 http://bikeblogs.org/sf/?p=503#comment-2473 From 1993 to 2000, the UK had a "fuel price escalator" which was much the same idea as you're putting forward. After a few years there was a protest and it failed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_Price_Escalator Overlapping with this from 1996, the UK also had "national cycling strategy" which had the aim of quadrupling the number of cycling trips by 2012. This was abandoned a few years ago after cycle usage in the UK had dropped rather than risen. The problem, as ever, is that it's just hot air. If a useful percentage of what was raised from the escalator had been put into genuinely good cycling infrastructure it may have made a difference. It might also have lead to the public being more accepting of higher fuel prices than if they believed they had no choice but to drive. From 1993 to 2000, the UK had a “fuel price escalator” which was much the same idea as you’re putting forward.

After a few years there was a protest and it failed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_Price_Escalator

Overlapping with this from 1996, the UK also had “national cycling strategy” which had the aim of quadrupling the number of cycling trips by 2012. This was abandoned a few years ago after cycle usage in the UK had dropped rather than risen.

The problem, as ever, is that it’s just hot air. If a useful percentage of what was raised from the escalator had been put into genuinely good cycling infrastructure it may have made a difference.

It might also have lead to the public being more accepting of higher fuel prices than if they believed they had no choice but to drive.

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