[Prudence]

They've been testing this in the Seattle area, too. The idea is to charge you based on when/where/how far you drive. "Our" project is a bit more complicated than Moonliner describes for CA -- as the Seattle-area plan would charge people not only based on how many miles driven, but whether they were driven in peak areas during peak times.

Aside from the usual privacy concerns (including how alleged malfunctions would be handled,) it's yet another regressive tax proposal for the good ol' Evergreen state.

In theory, these proposals are supposed to encourage the use of public transit and/or off-peak commuting. The problems with that (here) are: a) public transit both sucks and blows, particularly from the suburbs; b) housing prices here are skyrocketing. Just today an article in the Seattle P-I notes that a typical first-time home buyer only makes 2/3 of the income necessary to make mortgage payments in a starter home. Of necessity, most of us average flunkies live in the suburbs; and c) average flunkies are the least likely to have flexible schedules or permission to telecommute, as we have to be present in service capacities, and thus will need to travel major commuter routes at the major commuter times.

But the privacy concerns remain the most frightening aspect. I don't care what its initial limits are; I care what some entity that doesn't have my best interests at heart will decide to start using it for. If they're tracking where you drive, as in the WA pilot project, how long until your insurance company declines claims for damages incurred in high crime or high accident areas? Or your employeer discovers you've been patronizing the competition (like the recent beer case -- the brands escape me)?

I swear I don't walk around with a tinfoil hat to keep the gov't from reading my thoughts. I'm my father's daughter (and he considers a personal document shredder an ideal housewarming gift.)

Honestly I don't understand why they don't just increase the gas tax if they need additional transportation revenue (or an incentive to carpool.) It's an existing system and far less intrusive into my personal affairs.