Let's see if it passes. California already has EV owners paying $150 a year which is more than I would have paid in state gas tax. A drop in the bucket vs the fuel savings I had ($3k vs $500 pre-solar). Is it really that surprising Texas is trying to penalize buying an EV

 

I have to pay a $75 yearly license tab fee for having a hybrid. So yeah, I'm paying an "electrification fee" for driving a car that gets 28 mpg.

 

It doesn't punish EV owners, it just makes up for the lost revenue that EV owners do not pay (in fuel taxes) when they drive on state funded roads. If EV owners think there will be no fees or taxes applied to EV usage, they are wrong. It will be more expensive to drive green in the future when it is all said and done.

IMO, there will be a charging tax, usage or connection fee when you charge an electric vehicle at home.....this will be the solution. Add in a battery recycling fee (at moment of purchase) the list goes on and on

Legislation in eight states cover hybrid, electric vehicle fees

 

Wow. You are definitely getting the short end of that stick. A non-PHEV shouldn't be charged this fee as you already pay gas tax. I'm completely okay paying the $150 to pay my fair share. Its funny because the electric companies want you to switch to EV...they give you a ton of incentives such as a yearly rebate if you have an EV. I was given $250 worth of free electricity for the year and since I have solar, it completely pays off my flat fee for a of couple years.

 

Did you read the article? It plainly says that they are seeking an EV registration fee that is FAR higher than the average light-duty vehicle pays in gas tax in Texas. California has it right when it charges $150 as thats equivalent to ICE fuel tax in California and other states also charge equivalent rates to what they get in fuel tax. Texas is trying to dissuade EV purchases by adding a far higher fee. Not surprising given Big Oil's influence in Texas.

 

I have been pretty clear (over the last few years) stating that driving an EV will cost more than driving gas....at the moment, there is no way for users of EV to be charged for road usage....gas taxes are NOT high enough as it is.

 

They want to make driving ANY type of car a lot more expensive. People in USA have long enjoyed automobiles that were cheap to buy or lease, and cheap to maintain and drive. In any other countries cars are a lot more expensive to buy because of taxes, sometimes more than twice as expensive, they don't have subsidized leases, and fuel costs a lot more. Also they get to pay yearly taxes depending on the size of the engine, power output, etc. This is coming to the US.

 

Although this might (?) be considered taxes or tolls, you also didn't mention the bull-**** fees that some European cities charge just for the privilege of driving in and out.

 

This is what we did. We had to upgrade our panel, anyway, so we asked the electrician to install a 50amp,14-50 outlet. They ended up rolling it in at no additional cost, because it's relatively cheap and the line was staying in the garage (as opposed to running dozens of feet somewhere else, which would've taken more labor/time).

Yeah, it's fun when you look at it this way, and ICE is definitely in 1st place for MPH, lol. It's been a while, but I think superchargers are in the 1000 mph range.

 

I wouldn’t mind a fee to get your driver’s license like Europe. DMV is handing out too many licenses to bad drivers. Better to restrict it to folks that are serious about driving. Make it affordable/accessible for low-income by tying it to engine size or car price (if you decide to get a used V8).

 

With my CT200h, we still have some perks with EVs and Hybrids here in Florida with wiping out tolls on some stretches of roads. It used to be a lot more before the laws expired that allowed for that on state roads like the Florida Turnpike, but we do not pay any more on registration fees.

Problem I here is people gripe that not enough charging stations when they are traveling around state. Also, if you live in an apartment or any kind of complex (even townhomes), forget trying to persuade management on charging station. Where I live, we already had an issue with someone even offering to pay to set one up as they wanted to buy a Tesla, but management said no given that it would set a precedent with others wanting one and also setting up the cables to run to his parking spot, not to mention the whole issue of billing him for electricity.

 

Did not know that but am not surprised.

 

Yes....from what I understand, Rome, Paris, and London have had entry-tolls for driving for years, and some other cities have followed suit. In my area, we have had tolls on Interstate-66, in and out of D.C., for several years...they are determined by supply/demand and traffic-levels during rush-hours, are flashed on overhead signs, and deducted from electronic EZ-Pass cards. Some of them, at their peak, have been outrageous.....$40-50 for only a 10-mile drive into D.C.

Steve might be able to expound on this a little more than I can.....he uses those roads more often.

 

The world is overpopulated, and cities are overcrowded. Governments are looking to reduce the amount of traffic that is chocking the infrastructure, so they are coming up with congestion fees, tolls, etc. NYC had congestion fee system approved right before the pandemic, so it stalled, but now they are resuming it, I fully expect NYC to have a congestion fee by 2022. I also expect the price of cars to skyrocket, and as the amount of cars on the roads decreases, those who are still able to afford a car will have to pay even more fees to support the infrastructure. People who wont be able to afford a car will seek alternate methods of transportation such as bicycles and electric scooters, and I expect those to be heavily taxed as well, Our Mayor already said that he is not apposed to requiring registration and insurance for bicycles.

 

I drive 87 miles one way to work, I fill up my car in 4 minutes and I'm on the freeway again. Sometimes I only have 3 hours after a 16 hour shift before I go back to work another 16 hour shift so I don't have 15, 20, 30 minutes to charge. That being said, I would readily buy an EV that had a 500 mile range and charged at least halfway in 5 minutes for half the cost of gas. Or fully at home in a couple hours and electricity wasn't 26 cents per KWH... but I'll never give up my gas car, I enjoy driving, hearing the engine, the shifting, the experience, that's taken away with driving a golf cart with a body kit.