(WXYZ) — The Michigan Department of Transportation is conducting a new survey that could change how Michigan funds its roads as we move toward an electric future.
The state plans to spend $5 million on the survey about a new road usage charge system.
It includes asking people if they would be willing to install a GPS mileage tracker in their vehicle.
It comes as Michigan's current tax on diesel became a point of concern. Those taxes fund road projects.
A report commissioned by the state's County Road Association estimated that EV usage means the state could lose out on up to $500 million in road funding through the gas tax by 2030, a report that urged the state to think of other ways to make up for the loss.
"All alternate fuel vehicles, take away from that tax base, we've been very dependent on fossil fuels on taxing fossil fuels. Well, that's not the way the future is going," Jean Ruestman from MDOT said.
Some experts acknowledge GPS tracking could mean privacy concerns, but others say the point of the survey is to gauge perceptions and hammer out details before any pilot program hits the streets.
"How can we do that safely, though? And is that something, again that given that understanding of my people? Would they be comfortable with that being the methodology of tracking miles and then charging? Or would they want to self-report? And what would that look like?" she added.
