Bay area officials considering a regional gas tax increase

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the San Francisco Bay area is proposing a 10-cent-a-gallon regional gas tax. The tax would be applied in addition to existing state and federal gas taxes and state sales tax. The reason given for adding the tax would be to encourage drivers to go to more fuel efficient vehicles. In order to get the tax, two thirds of the voters in the nine counties in the Bay area would have to approve. The problem is that gas prices typically fluctuate by more than ten cents a gallon and such a small tax is likely to be ineffective for it's stated purpose. If they really want to influence drivers behavior they would need a substantially higher tax increase.

[Source: San Francisco Chronicle]