Survey: 73% of Americans believe EV owners should pay an ‘energy tax’ to help fund road projects

November 17, 2025

Key Points

Verra Mobility surveyed 2,000 Americans who regularly use toll roads in the U.S.
An increase in fuel-efficient, or hybrid, vehicles, along with rising EV sales is impacting revenue from gas taxes, which are often used to fund infrastructure and roadway projects.
93% of survey respondents said that the infrastructure in their state was in need of improvement.
73% answered that EV owners should have to pay an ‘energy tax’ to help offset the decline in gas tax revenue.
A majority of respondents had either positive or neutral perceptions of road usage charging and congestion pricing programs.

Report details Americans' perceptions of toll roads and congestion pricing

We partnered with survey firm Pollfish to poll 2,000 Americans living in states with toll roads on topics such as electric vehicles, gas taxes, variable toll pricing programs and other infrastructure-funding programs.

The detailed smart mobility report with the full survey data can be downloaded here: www.verramobility.com/survey-ruc-road-usage-charging-toll-roads.

Decorative cover and pages of a report about survey findings on toll roads

Gas taxes have historically funded road projects

EVs and hybrids are reducing revenue from gas taxes

Since 1932, the federal gas tax has been a major source of funds to improve U.S. roads and bridges.

With more EVs and fuel-efficient vehicles on the road, the gas tax revenue has been in decline. In Pennsylvania, for example, the Pennsylvania Petroleum Association reported an estimated drop in gas tax revenue of $250 million in 2024 when compared to 2019.

“This evolution will have a significant impact on drivers and, even more so, on fleet operators, who must navigate a complex network of tolling authorities and payment schemes while staying compliant,” said Stacey Moser, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Verra Mobility's Commercial Services business.

Our survey found that Americans believed EV owners should contribute to this decrease by paying a form of 'energy tax.'

Toll roads provide an effective funding mechanism for building and maintaining roadways. In the U.S., 33 states have a toll road, tunnel or bridge, and data shows that drivers took more than 9.6 billion tolled trips in 2023.

Our study founded generally positive perceptions to tolling:

67% of respondents said they believed toll roads were more fair than taxes
76% believed paying tolls is acceptable if the revenue is being used to improve the quality and safety of roads and bridges
65% said they would be more willing to pay tolls if they knew revenue was dedicated to infrastructure projects that directly benefited them

Pie Chart depicting 67% answered yes to the question Do you believe that toll roads are more fair than a gas tax or tax impacting all drivers?

Toll Roads Provide a Significant benefits to drivers and to cities

“Toll roads, and more recently, initiatives like New York City’s congestion pricing program have demonstrated that user-based funding models can be highly effective," said Stacey Moser, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Verra Mobility's Commercial Services business These models generate reliable revenue but also offer drivers faster, safer and more reliable travel.”

Drivers are on-board with road usage charging and congestion pricing

A majority of survey respondents were in favor of using toll roads to fund transportation projects. When asked about other, newer road payment programs:

41% were in favor of road usage charging, 33% were neutral and just 25% were against
41% were in favor of congestion pricing, 31% were neutral and 28% were against

Americans surveyed also believed that toll roads were more effective at helping reduce road congestion.