Fuel efficient vehicles create new challenges for revenue, say panelist at Chamber event

EAU CLAIRE — A panel of transportation experts met at Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) on Friday to discuss transportation in all its forms at the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce’s regular Eggs and Issues event.

“The reason the Chamber included this is that transportation is an essential part of having a strong economy,” said Vice President of Governmental Affairs Scott Rogers. “So this was a chance to give us a perspective, first of all, on the transportation programs and services that affect us, and then we had some very specific things about our current issues.”

Speakers included Assistant Deputy Secretary of Wisconsin Department of Transportation Joel Nelson, Community Service and Economic Development Manager at Xcel Energy Julie Thoney, Executive Director of Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin Debby Jackson, Chippewa Valley Airport Director Charity Zich, Eau Claire Deputy City Manager Dave Solberg, Eau Claire Transit Manager Ty Fadness, and Scott Rogers representing the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition.

Jackson, speaking for the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin, said that there has been increased federal funding for transportation due to the bipartisan federal infrastructure law that came out in 2021.

Despite this, “there is probably more need than there are dollars in the current system,” she said.

Much of this, she said, is due to the increase in fuel efficiency vehicles on the road taking away opportunities for more money from the gas tax.

“You may actually be paying less in gas taxes today than you were in 2006,” she said. “What is saving our gas tax is Wisconsinites’ love for SUVs. I’m going to be really honest. That helps.”

Another contributing factor to difficulties with revenue is the flat rate of the Construction Cost Index (CCI).

“When we have these fixed flat user fees that don’t have any growth, our fund can’t really deal with inflation at all, let alone historic inflation like we’ve seen recently,” she said.

While adding extra fees and taxes for utilizing electric vehicle charge stations is compensating some, Jackson said that “80 percent of cars that were sold in September of this year were still old fashioned, non-hybrid, non-plug-in, internal combustion engines.”

“So long as that is the case,” she added, “the issue that’s providing the most downward pressure on the gas tax is more fuel efficient gas powered vehicles, and given the timeline to transition our fleet, this also means that the vast majority of cars in the near future will be gas powered.”

But she has a lot of hope that this issue can be resolved.

“We’re talking about an issue that has historically had the best opportunity to come to more bipartisan solutions,” she said. “The two sides may not always come at it from the same angle, but we have been successful in the state.”

Other topics discussed by panelists at the event included bridge replacements, the airport, the importance of maintaining public rest stops for truck drivers, advances toward bringing railway transportation to the area, downtown parking, and public transit solutions.

The event went longer than usual Eggs and Issues events, but was appreciated by the attendees.