Most Americans (56%) oppose states collecting tolls on federal interstate highways, while a minority (29%) supports the idea and the remainder (15%) “don’t know,” according to a recent poll conducted by YouGov.  Over half (53%) say that the revenue generated from tolls on a federal interstate highway should only be used for that specific road, with almost as many (47%) believing the funds can be spent “for repairs and construction” on any road in the state.

When asked how governments should pay for road repair and construction, respondents selected the following revenue sources:

  • Gas tax (47%);
  • Vehicle registration fees (47%);
  • Road tolls (44%);
  • Driver license fees (42%);
  • Sales tax (21%);
  • Income taxes (19%);
  • Property taxes (15%)

The opposition to implementing tolls on the federal interstate system was widespread across party lines—49 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents and 60 percent of Republicans that took the survey were somewhat or strongly opposed to allowing tolls.

When asked how revenue generated from tolls should be used within the state, Democrats were more inclined to use the funds on any road within the state (56%) and Republicans (56%) and Independents (58%) only on the road where tolls were collected.   Additionally, Democrats were most favorable to the use of vehicle registration fees to generate revenue for road construction (51%), while Republicans were most interested in a gas tax (56%).

The poll, conducted May 1-5 2014, surveyed 1000 individuals on toll roads and transportation funding.  For the crosstabs of results visit: http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/97c9fm8owo/tabs_OPI_toll_roads_20140505.pdf