Letter to the editor: Electric car owners' fair share

Letter-writer Joe Kujawski (“Electric car fees? Fair is fair,” Dec. 4, TribLIVE) presented his case for electric and hybrid car owners paying their fair share of road use taxes. I have no problem whatsoever paying my “fair” share, but I want it to be a “fair” share.

I have owned a Chevy Bolt EV for almost two years and, being an engineer, I have kept accurate records. For the past 12 months I have driven my Bolt 9,720 miles on $272.77 of electricity. This represents an average of 121 miles per gallon of gasoline.

The proposal presented is to charge all EV users a flat fee of $175 per year for our “fair” share of our road tax. With a tax rate of $0.587 on every gallon purchased, I would have paid $47.15 in road use tax rather than the proposed $175.

I bought an EV because of its performance and handling, along with its economy. I paid a premium for this car to help promote the technology that will totally rewrite the automobile industry of the future. It is just like our politicians to do everything they can to make a fast buck while stepping on our future.

I welcome anyone that would like to check out my records and math on any of these numbers.

Kenneth R. Nath

Saltsburg