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U.S. overdependence on motor vehicles stems in large measure from the failure to make car and truck owners pay the full costs of driving. Highway users, for example, pay only a fraction of the actual costs of highway construction, repair, and a host of other motor-vehicle-related services.

The authors of this eye-opening paper tackle the difficult problem of estimating true transportation costs and reveal that the sums involved are enormous -- ranging up to hundreds of billions of dollars per year -- and could easily add several dollars to the cost of a gallon of motor fuel if borne directly by drivers and fuel users.

Making the case for badly needed transportation reforms -- more efficient conventionally powered vehicles, more attractive public transit, and the introduction of climate-friendly vehicles for the next century -- the authors argue that these initiatives are unlikely ever to get off the drawing board unless and until U.S. drivers pay more of the true costs of transportation.