5 ms·
Without the rails.
by julbaxter 9y ago
Without the rails.
- mtgx 9y agoWill Uber pay a bigger portion of the road repair taxes? Especially considering truckers already pay a disproportionately lower tax compared to the impact they have on the roads.
- lambda_lover 9y agoDo they? I mean, trucks are hardly gas efficient, and aren't most roads maintained (supposedly) via gas taxes? The question, I suppose, is how much harder they are on the roads relative to their fuel efficiency.
- lsy 9y agoFuel efficiency decreases generally relative to the surface area of the front of the vehicle, where road damage increases with the mass of the vehicle. So a long, heavy vehicle like a truck is indeed harder on the road relative to their fuel efficiency.
- andechs 9y ago> road damage increases with the mass Road damage actually increases proportional to mass^4 - trucks cause exponentially more damage than cars. https://streets.mn/2016/07/07/chart-of-the-day-vehicle-weight-vs-road-damage-levels/ https://streets.mn/2016/07/07/chart-of-the-day-vehicle-weigh...
- panopticon 9y ago> I mean, trucks are hardly gas efficient, and aren't most roads maintained (supposedly) via gas taxes? The gas tax hasn't been increased since 1993 and accounts for less than half of road funding.
- emodendroket 9y agoPerhaps on a related note, our roads are in embarrassing condition.
- hfdgiutdryg 9y agoaren't most roads maintained (supposedly) via gas taxes? The last time I looked into this, studies put it at something like 50% - 80% of costs paid for by fuel taxes. It's hard to come up with a straight figure because of so many levels of intermingled tax funds.
- snaveed 9y agoThis represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the rationale for taxation. There is a societal benefit to efficient means of transportation. You, along with most other people, are reaping the benefits of truckers using roads to deliver cargo.
- neolefty 9y agoNot including externalities--such as road maintenance--distorts the market. Better to capture them all so that different forms of transportation can compete "fairly". That is, without hidden subsidies.
- mempko 9y agoThe rationale for taxation has changed over time. We are no longer on the gold standard, so the reasons for taxation are different. But overall the reason for taxation hasn't changed, which is to maintain the demand for the central money supply. This of course is the rationale for sovereign entities with their own money supply like the United States. The rationale for taxes for towns, counties, etc is completely different.
- undersuit 9y agoIn the United States trucks are already taxed at higher rates because of their weights. That's why we have weight stations scattered throughout our highways though automation and technology have reduced their need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weigh_station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weigh_station
- Obi_Juan_Kenobi 9y agoI think there's still an argument that it's not enough, as road wear varies with the 4th power of tire load. Ultimately time is another factor in road wear and breakdown, so utilization rates matter, but on balance freight traffic is subsidized.
- astrodust 9y agoI'm sure Uber will come up with some bullshit reason why they don't have 'trucks' and don't have to pay taxes.
- stale2002 9y agoThat sounds like a problem with the trucking industry, not Uber. So the trucking industry as a whole should be the thing being taxed more.
- joncrane 9y agoIsn't HN particularly fond of mentioning that one of the pillars of Uber's business model is to externalize costs? So no...