Say No to Big Brother in Jacksonville

[KenFSU]

I attended a transportation conference this afternoon for work. The Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation's District 2 (which includes all of northeast Florida) was the featured speaker. He discussed the 2008/2009 work program, proposed roadway construction projects to be let in the next few years, etc. It was all fine and well.

Anyway, during the question and answer portion, he mentioned something that I found to be incredibly disturbing. To offset losses in transportation funds due to decreased fuel consumption, he said that a new system was being studied.

From the notes I jotted down:

"Because the private and public sectors have both flattened at the same time (a rarity), new sources of funding will be required. The preferred model being investigated would place a GPS-based transponder into every vehicle. The transponder would automatically record miles traveled in the vehicle, routes taken, and times traveled. Peak hours and certain roads would cost more than off-peak hours and other roads. At gas pump, a device would read the transponder and tax/charge accordingly. This system has been tested in Portland recently, though a more detailed test with a larger sample will be required before going forward with the idea."

Disregarding the cost and logistical nightmare of implementing such a system, you will NEVER, EVER jam a GPS system into my car and watch where and when I drive. Never. That is my business and my business alone.

Just a staggeringly awful, invasive idea, and I was floored to hear it being discussed in such a casual manner.

[Driven1]

i'm with you Ken...all the more reason to ride a bike instead (except you may die at the hands of tobacco-chewing, monster-truck-loving morons).

[Doctor_K]

Its a great reason to tear up all the highways and convert to rail.

...where you swipe a smart card into the reader, and the same type of commuter information is catalogued and tracked anyway?  Seems like your personal freedom and what you do is under scrutiny regardless of the type of transportation.

[Lunican]

If anyone wants to buy a GPS tracker that only logs a fraction of your miles, I've got some for sale...

[Jason]

Isn't that system for government vehicles, not personal?

[KenFSU]

Isn't that system for government vehicles, not personal?

No, he was very, very clear in that it would be for all commuters. Ironically though, the same system was going to be test run on the FDOT trucks here in Florida four years ago, and the employees were so absolutely adamant against it that it never ended up happening.

[Charles Hunter]

If you don't want a car with a GPS in it, you better buy one now, because in a few years all cars will have them - under the brand name "On-Star" or something.  And after you buy that non-GPS car, keep it well maintained, so it lasts forever, because the next car you buy will certainly have GPS built in.

But, more to the point, poking around the Oregon DOT website (since Portland was cited above), yields this page: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/RUFPP/index.shtml
On that page is a link to a PDF (101 pages) that is the final report on the "Road User Fee" study.  I just looked at the Summary - they say it is "viable" as a way to replace "per gallon" gas taxes, as gasoline consumption continues to decline.

[BridgeTroll]

Just to play devils advocate a little...  We have all been talking about thinking "out of the box" ideas to curb vehicle travel and still fund transportation infrastructure.  Not a big fan of the government knowing where I have driven but what about simply miles driven?  I have also read about car insurance companies thinking about going the same route.  Basing insurance rates on actual miles driven as opposed to estimates.  Both methods would provide economic incentive to drive less...

$.02

[Eazy E]

I am more worried about the much more sinister and insidious idea of selling off our highways to private companies.  Now that BS is something to worry about.

(not that a big brother loving GPS in my car is something to laugh at)