Corinne Kisner, Executive Director, and Janette Sadik-Khan, Chair of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), today issued the following statement in response to calls for state and federal “gas tax holidays”: 

The dramatically increasing cost of vehicles, insurance, and gas underscores the urgency of shifting our transportation system away from one mode–private cars–to one where Americans have choices about how they get around. 

Suspending the gas tax will not provide meaningful relief for consumers–it will instead subsidize the largest and most profitable industry on the planet. As we’ve seen in states that have eliminated their own gas taxes this year, oil companies use the elimination of taxes as an opportunity to increase their own profits, shifting dollars from public investment to oil company profit. 

Rising oil prices–due to global events–are not a reason to double down on fossil fuel subsidies. Instead, this moment demands urgent investment in sidewalks, bike lanes, and the country’s bus and rail systems, making them more accessible to more Americans. Redesigning streets across the country can prioritize the cheapest, most sustainable, and most resilient ways of getting around: walking, biking, and taking transit.

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About the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)
NACTO is an association of 91 major North American cities and transit agencies formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues. The organization’s mission is to build cities as places for people, with safe, sustainable, accessible, and equitable transportation choices that support a strong economy and vibrant quality of life. To learn more, visit nacto.org or follow us on Twitter at @NACTO and Instagram at @NACTOcities. 

Contact
Alex Engel | [email protected]

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2022