State and local subsidies to highway users averaged 1.9ยข per vehicle mile in 2018, according to data recently released by the Federal Highway Administration. The average vehicle on the road has about 1.67 occupants, so subsidies per passenger mile average 1.2 cents.
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By far the majority of these subsidies were at the local level. While exact calculations are not possible, I estimate state subsidies averaged 0.3 cents per vehicle mile while local subsidies averaged 4.4 cents per vehicle mile. Continue reading
