Operations

Your April 20 Pre-Trip: Portland officials want truckers to pay for road upkeep

April 20, 2016

Here are five things worth knowing today.

Here are five things worth knowing today:

1. The Portland, OR, Bureau of Transportation is circulating a proposal for a heavy vehicle use tax that would tack on an additional percentage to the state fees truckers already pay, according to a Portland Mercury blog. According to the report, the city believes it can pull in $2.5 million a year by taxing 2.8% of the weight-mile fee truckers pay the state “for their abuse of state roads.” The city is also trying to institute a 10-cent gas tax. Portland Mercury has more.

2. A Samsung Insights article examines how trucking technology is increasing collaborative efforts between trucking companies and the government. It says advances in trucking technology are making it easier for operators, drivers and inspectors to ensure that trucks are meeting FMCSA safety regulations. The article breaks down the three major areas of regulation – licensing, maintenance and inspections, and weight limits – and adds that using new technology enhances customer service.

3. According to Wide Open Country, trucking songs have always been a big part of country music. Now, according to the report, musicians Aaron Tippin and Tony Justice have released their new trucking song, “Brothers of the Highway,” to the modern world. Wide Open Country has more about Tippin and Justice and their new song.

4. Union County College in New Jersey is using a $900,000 grant to run a transportation, logistics and distribution program to better prepare workers for the state’s transportation industry. According to My Central Jersey, the school will develop and deliver training programs for incumbent workers at employers in the state and training programs that will provide skills to unemployed workers and prepare them for entry-level jobs. My Central Jersey has more.

5. Could the end be near for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles? Automobile Magazine thinks so. According to the report, cheap gas might be the foreseeable death of FCA – make of Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ram and Jeep vehicles. Now that gas prices are so low, demand is high once again for SUVs and crossovers, leaving smaller, fuel-efficient cars to “languish on dealers’ lots.” Automobile Mag has more.