How to pay for highways

VMT — get used to those letters.
While you’re at it, put “congestion pricing” in your lexicon.

Utah lawmakers are searching for ways to fund highways and roads during a severe recession, but they seem incapable of thinking beyond traditional gas taxes, a mechanism whose time has come and gone. As cars become more fuel efficient and as hybrids begin to get a foothold, gas tax revenues will decline regardless of how much people drive.
VMT stands for vehicle miles traveled. Oregon already has experimented with this. Each car would be equipped with a device that tracks how many miles you drive and charges you a tax based on those miles when you fill up. Here’s a Christian Science monitor editorial about it. And here’s one by Dale McFeatters of Scripps Howard News Service urging people to consider the idea cautiously.
Congestion pricing is a variation on toll roads. The toll rises when traffic is heavy, and falls when traffic is light.
People complain about UTA buses and trains being empty during off-peak hours. What about our freeways? They stand mostly empty much of the day and are stuffed to capacity during peak commuting times.
I had one expert tell me two-thirds of all rush-hour traffic is discretionary. Those people could choose to drive at other times, and they would if it cost them less.
If you don’t agree with this, I’d like to hear your plans for funding highways in the future.