$24M road funds go to EV stations for the rich

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation,

Oregon Department of Transportation says they are $1 billion under-funded for basic road costs.

Several cities have raised gas taxes in the past few years to pay for basic road costs.

Yet, Oregon is about to receive up to $24 million in Federal road funds and it will not be used on roads.

Federal grants will provide millions of dollars to install electric vehicle charging stations near low-and middle-income apartments and condominiums in Tualatin, Albany, Portland, Salem, and more than a dozen other Oregon cities.  It is folly to install EV stations in these lower-income neighborhoods because the poor cannot afford a $60,000 (average) cost for an electric vehicle.   EV stations instead are used by Oregon wealthiest people.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $15 million to Tualatin and $1.9 million to Albany under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law program. Another $102 million grant will pay for EV and hydrogen fueling stations along Interstate 5 in California, Oregon, and Washington.  Under a population/road mile proportion estimate, Oregon may be receiving $18 million in aid under the new grant.

So far, 61 charging ports have opened at 15 stations with nearly 15,000 more ports in development.