Changing gears; Paying for highways in new ways.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

There are plenty of things to be concerned about regarding the "vehicle miles traveled" toll-collection system being contemplated by the Patrick administration. A use fee for all state highways, using satellite tracking, not only smacks of Big Brother, but also has the potential of becoming a much-abused cash cow, as the Massachusetts Turnpike has been.

If adopted, every vehicle would have to have a device enabling the state to track via satellite how many miles it travels on state roads. Critics correctly point out the system's Orwellian potential to track individuals' movements or infringe upon personal privacy - uses completely at odds with American principles of freedom. Problematic, too, are the specters of ever-rising use fees and more bureaucracy.

If those concerns can be credibly addressed, as Oregon has apparently done, VMT should be part of the discussion of how to fund $20 billion in highway and bridge repairs in Massachusetts. The idea is expected to be part of the transportation bill filed by the Patrick administration this month. In decades to come, the gas tax is apt to be an unreliable revenue source as the number of fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids and electric cars grows.

In Massachusetts, where heavy traffic and annual freeze-thaw cycles make for high upkeep costs, a strategy is needed to provide sustainable infrastructure maintenance that is fair to motorists, out-of-state visitors, commuters and the commercial vehicles that put a big hurt on our roads but also provide the bulk of goods needed by businesses and consumers.

Adopting a statewide VMT user fee is only one possibility, and perhaps not the best. But it should be part of the infrastructure funding debate.