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Michael Dunne: From KLCC Studios, this is Oregon on the Record. I'm Michael Dunne. Perhaps the most noncontroversial thing you could ever say as a talk show host is that no one likes paying taxes. Yet if there's a sliding scale of dislike for taxes, gas taxes seem to be the least controversial. Drivers use roads, so paying a little at the pump to help fund road repairs and maintenance makes sense. And indeed, gas taxes bring in a huge amount of money to the state of Oregon to fill potholes and build new bridges. At least, that's the way it used to be. With more and more people driving fuel-efficient vehicles, especially electric cars, we're taking in less and less in gas taxes. Today on the show, you'll hear from the Oregon Department of Transportation's deputy director about what this means for the state and what we can do to bring in revenue from a dwindling tax base. Travis Brouwer is deputy director of the Oregon Department of Transportation. Travis, thanks so much for coming on and talking with us.
Travis Brouwer: Thanks for having me.
Dunne: Give us an overview of how gas taxes are collected and spent by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Brouwer: Well, the gas tax is one of the primary sources of funding we have for Oregon's transportation system. There are three main components that flow into the State Highway Fund: the gas tax, vehicle fees like registration or title fees you pay at the DMV, and fees the freight industry pays. Those all go into the State Highway Fund, and gas taxes make up about 40% of the money we collect, about $700 million per year. By law, that money has to be used for highways. It's included in the State Highway Fund in the Oregon Constitution, and it's distributed by law: About half goes to ODOT, 30% goes to counties and 20% goes to cities. So it's a joint state and local resource.
Dunne: No, go ahead, keep going.
Brouwer: So the State Highway Fund pays for basic day-to-day maintenance work like patching potholes and plowing snow, but also things like bridge preservation, paving and fixing traffic signals. The current gas tax rate is 40 cents per gallon. That was set by the Legislature in 2017 and phased in over time. Now we have a gas tax that's starting to fall behind due to fuel efficiency, as well as inflation, since it's not adjusted for inflation. It's lost a lot of its purchasing power over the last 30 years.
Dunne: Maybe you could paint a picture that describes the importance of gas taxes. If we didn't collect them, what would happen to your department?
Brouwer: I think it's even more important to think about what would happen to our roads and to people's ability to get around. The gas tax is the single largest source of funding we have, so virtually every activity ODOT undertakes, whether that's day-to-day maintenance or major transportation projects like repaving or rebuilding a bridge, is funded at least in part by the gas tax. If we didn't have it, we'd see our roads start to really deteriorate, and that would affect people's ability to get around safely and efficiently. You'd see a lot more potholes over time. Some of our bridges wouldn't be safe for heavy trucks to cross, and as a result, we'd have to start restricting them, which would hurt our economy. The gas tax is really important for our transportation system and for people's ability to get around the state.
Dunne: I guess the $64,000 question, and you teed this up a little bit earlier, is the fact that our cars are getting more fuel-efficient, whether it's internal combustion engines or this fairly new crop of vehicles, EVs. Talk a little bit about how that's impacting our ability to collect gas tax revenue that goes back into roads and bridges.
Brouwer: We are starting to see an impact on the gas tax. We project that last year was the peak of the gas tax, and that the amount we take in will decline about 1% every year going forward, before you even adjust for inflation. When you factor in inflation, you're talking about losing about 4% of the gas tax's purchasing power year after year, and that adds up to a big cumulative loss over time. The challenge is that our fleet is becoming more fuel-efficient, which is great for reducing air pollution and meeting our climate commitments. We really want to make this transition away from fossil fuel as the primary power source for the transportation system. The problem is that fossil fuel taxes are the primary funding source for that system. There are now about 100,000 battery electric vehicles on the state's roads, another 40,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of hybrids. Every new vehicle coming onto the road is significantly more fuel-efficient than the one it replaces. The average vehicle now gets about 25 miles per gallon, about 20% higher than it was 20 years ago. So people are essentially getting a tax cut every year: As they move to more fuel-efficient vehicles, they're paying less and less in gas tax.
Dunne: If you're just joining us, we're talking with the deputy director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, Travis Brouwer. I'm wondering, since I have an EV, is there anything an EV owner pays that's somewhat equivalent to the gas tax an internal combustion engine owner pays?
Brouwer: Yes, absolutely. I have an electric vehicle too, and they're great vehicles. Starting back in 2017, the Legislature passed legislation that created an extra registration fee for electric vehicles, as well as hybrids that pay little or no gas tax. That supplemental registration fee is now $145 a year for an electric vehicle and $65 for a hybrid. It actually went up last year in the transportation funding package the Legislature passed, and it was one of the provisions that wasn't rescinded when voters rejected the package at the ballot this spring. That amount makes sure electric and hybrid vehicles pay something toward use of the roads, but it's not quite enough to cover what they'd pay if they were paying the gas tax.
Dunne: So it's not exactly parity. In other words, if I'm driving an old-fashioned, gas-powered internal combustion vehicle, I'm still paying more in gas taxes than what this fee would be for an EV.
Brouwer: It depends on what vehicle you're driving, how many miles per gallon it gets and how far you're driving. But yeah, in general, EV and hybrid drivers are probably paying a little less than they would if they were driving an internal combustion vehicle.
Dunne: So as we're seeing more and more people drive EVs and more efficient vehicles generally, do you have plans to tinker with the calculation, or find an alternative revenue source, so our roads and bridges still get the attention they need?
Brouwer: Yes, that's absolutely something we're working on right now. Oregon has been looking at this challenge for more than 20 years, and we were the first state in the nation to test the ability to charge vehicles by the mile rather than by the gallon. Last year, the Legislature's transportation funding package directed ODOT to start collecting a per-mile road usage charge, or RUC, from highly efficient vehicles, basically hybrids and electric vehicles. It's something we've been testing for the last 10 years, and we found out it works. So the Legislature said, let's start shifting those highly efficient vehicles that aren't paying much in gas tax to paying by the mile. Starting July 1, 2027, existing electric vehicles, like the one you drive and the one I drive, will start shifting to paying by the mile at their next registration, and more vehicles will be added gradually over time. The good thing about the road usage charge is that you'll pay 2 cents per mile for every mile you drive, and you won't have to pay that big supplemental registration fee. So you and I won't get that $145-a-year bill to register our electric vehicles every couple of years. And if you're driving a hybrid, like my Toyota Prius, and you're in the road usage charge program, which is voluntary right now, you also get a credit for any fuel tax you did pay. So you're really paying just one tax: You're paying by the mile, not the extra registration fee and not the gas tax.
Dunne: I'm wondering too if there are other options under consideration, or that other states are using. I always think about something like a toll road. I charge my electric vehicle mostly at home, but every once in a while I'm out and I charge at one of the public charging stations. Is there a possibility of putting fees there? Or, as I mentioned at the top, is there consideration of tolling somewhere in Oregon?
Brouwer: That's a great question. We have what's called the Road User Fee Task Force, which the Legislature created 25 years ago to explore different revenue options. Charging for EV charging was one of the things the task force looked at a couple of years ago while preparing a report for the Legislature that came forward in 2025 as part of that transportation funding discussion. What we found, since some other states have tried charging for EV charging, is that it doesn't raise much money, because there isn't that much public charging done as a percentage. I charge my electric vehicle at home almost exclusively, so you really couldn't raise much money that way. As for tolls, that's something that's been considered in the past, particularly in the Portland metro region. Coming out of the 2017 funding package the Legislature passed, ODOT was directed to toll Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 to help pay for some of the major congestion relief projects in the Portland metro region. That proved somewhat unpopular, though, and in 2024 the governor directed ODOT to stand down on that. So the only project currently planned to be tolled is the replacement of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River, the more than 100-year-old structure we're working to replace with a new, modern, multimodal bridge that could withstand an earthquake. But there are a number of major projects around the state and across the country. States typically use tolling to fund those major projects that are too expensive to pay for out of general tax revenue. So that may be something considered again in the future if lawmakers want to move forward with some of those other major projects.
Dunne: You just mentioned another state, and I wanted to ask: I think a lot of us looked at what was happening in New York, congestion pricing, I believe it's called. I know you're not the ODOT director for New York state, but could that somehow create another revenue source that might apply to a large metro area like Portland?
Brouwer: New York has been very successful in implementing congestion pricing to pay for transportation and manage traffic in New York City. But I think New York is a very unique city in a lot of ways, and this is one of them. It's really a charge to enter Lower Manhattan, which is surrounded on both sides by water and only accessible by a handful of bridges and tunnels. So I don't know that anyone is really looking to impose congestion pricing of that sort. We call it cordon pricing: If you cross a certain line to get into Lower Manhattan, you pay, and I want to say it's about $15 per vehicle, a pretty high rate compared with what's under consideration for something like the Interstate Bridge replacement project, where we're considering tolling in the range of $3 to $4 per trip. So I think New York is pretty unique and unlikely to be something we'd emulate in Portland or any other part of the state.
Dunne: I think most people would agree New York is unique. I'm wondering too, I've heard that EVs, maybe not my Nissan Leaf necessarily, but certainly the big trucks and some of the other electric SUVs, are very heavy because of the way batteries are configured. We talked about EV owners not necessarily paying their fair share, maybe that's the wrong phrase, with regard to gas taxes and paying for road maintenance. In addition, might EVs have an outsized damage component to roads because they're heavier? Is that true?
Brouwer: It's something we hear a lot, but it's not really the case, and it's not much of a challenge. Passenger vehicles under 10,000 pounds really don't produce that much wear and tear on the roads, whether it's a 5,000-pound vehicle or an 8,000-pound vehicle. The difference just isn't very significant. The damage a vehicle does grows exponentially as its weight goes up, particularly after vehicles reach 26,000 pounds, which is considered a heavy truck. In Oregon, we have a unique system where those vehicles pay what we call a weight-mile tax: They pay a tax for every mile they drive, based on their weight, that grows as they get heavier, in recognition of the fact that they cause disproportionate wear and tear on our roads. So we've really accounted for the heavier weight of the vehicles that actually do cause more damage to the roads.
Dunne: Got it. My last question, and I apologize, it might be somewhat philosophical or ask you to look into the future: Are you and your colleagues thinking that in 10 or 20 years, gas taxes simply won't work anymore because of this shift? Are you starting to think about that long-range future, how road maintenance and road projects can be funded if the pendulum swings and we've got more EVs and hybrids than good old-fashioned gas-burning cars?
Brouwer: Absolutely. This is something we've been thinking about as a state for 25 years, and I think the system we're starting to build will be very resilient. As more and more vehicles give up on fossil fuel, as we have more hybrids and electric vehicles on the road, they'll start paying by the mile rather than paying the gas tax. It'll be a natural transition. It's going to take likely decades, but over time that will happen. What we really see as most important is having a diverse portfolio of different transportation taxes and fees, so we're not overly reliant on any one of them. If one starts trailing off, we have others that will pick up the slack. It's a lot like investing: You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket. We have a transportation revenue portfolio that now has four legs to the stool: the gas tax, which is slowly fading away; DMV fees; the weight-mile tax on heavy trucks; and now the road usage charge. We would love to find some other options that would ensure we have a diverse set of revenue streams, so that we have a robust and resilient transportation funding structure going forward, one that lets Oregon continue to maintain and preserve its roads, make improvements and have a great transportation system.
Dunne: He's Deputy Director Travis Brouwer of the Oregon Department of Transportation. Deputy Director, thank you so much for coming on and talking with us.
Brouwer: You're very welcome. It was great to be here.
Dunne: We're going to take a break. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon on the Record. When we come back, there's a shortage of blood in our region, and our reporter will explain what organizations like the Red Cross are doing to get more people to roll up their sleeves. And we're back. I'm Michael Dunne, and you're listening to Oregon on the Record. Let's finish out this show by talking with our intern about her story on the shortage of blood in our region. Hannah Bush, intern for us here at KLCC. Hannah, second time in a week. Thanks for coming down again.
Hannah Bush: Happy to be here.
Dunne: So you did a story about a blood shortage we're experiencing. Tell us about it.
Bush: Right now, the Red Cross has declared that we're in an emergency blood shortage, which is pretty common for the summertime. People are going on vacation, their routines are interrupted, so they're not scheduling blood donations as often. Also, the Red Cross and other organizations rely heavily on school blood drives, but schools aren't in session, so teachers aren't giving, students aren't able to, and those central community hubs where people can give blood are closed because there's no school.
Dunne: Yeah, and as I understand it, blood needs sometimes go up in the summertime, right?
Bush: It completely goes up in the summertime. People are going out more, they're outside, they're being more adventurous because it's summer, because people are traveling, and that tends to lead to more accidents. People need blood, so as blood donations go down, the need goes up, which tends to create the shortage.
Dunne: So much so that in your story, you talked about the fact that the Red Cross, and also our local organization, BloodworksNW, are offering incentives to people, aren't they?
Bush: Yeah, incentives are pretty popular, especially around the summertime. You'll probably see them from about May into October. Lots of places offer incentives. The Red Cross, after they declared the shortage, is now doing a program where anyone who donates can get a $15 Fandango movie ticket gift card. And our local BloodworksNW is doing a program where if you donate at the Eugene Donor Center, or at one of their blood drives in the area, you can get a pass for the Lane County Fair.
Dunne: Nice. You can give blood and then go to a movie, like “The Odyssey,” which has a lot of blood in it. That's exciting. I know in your story you touched on this a little bit, that especially with the people at BloodworksNW and also at the American Red Cross, some people don't donate because of misconceptions. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Bush: There are a lot of misconceptions about donating blood. People a lot of times think they can't donate when they can. There are very few limiters to who can donate blood, but people think, if I'm on a certain medication, or if I've gotten a tattoo, or if I've been to this place or that place, I can't give blood. The Red Cross really encourages people to look at their website, because it will clearly specify what restricts people from giving blood, and what people are allowed to give while on or after something happens. A lot of times you can give blood even when you think you can't.
Dunne: Hannah Bush, our intern here for the summer, thank you so much.
Bush: Thank you.
Dunne: That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon on the Record are available as a podcast at klcc.org. Monday on the show, you'll meet the new superintendent for Springfield Public Schools. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon on the Record. Thanks for listening.
