10-cent local gas tax, explained

Background

In May 2016, Portland voters endorsed the work of the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) by approving Measure 26-173, a 10-cent per gallon fuel tax for repairing streets. This was the first local funding source in the city’s history dedicated to the city’s transportation system. That same month, Portland City Council passed a heavy vehicle use tax (HVUT) on companies operating trucks over 13 tons, which resulted in companies paying 13% of the total fuel tax revenue which was directed for use on Portland’s streets. This local revenue goes into the Local Gas Fund which, alongside the Heavy Vehicle Use Fund, the Transportation Utility Fund, and the Street Damage Restoration Fund, are all administered under PBOT's Fixing Our Streets program.

Voters renewed the 10-cent gas tax in 2020 and 2024.

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Oversight

Since the start of the 10-cent local gas tax, an oversight committee has provided accountability, following the resource allocation strategy outlined below and detailed in council documents.

The Fixing Our Streets program, of which the gas tax is one part, helps realize a safer, more mobile, and more sustainable Portland as envisioned by numerous plans and programs directing PBOT’s work citywide. This includes the Vision Zero Action Plan, PedPDX: Portland’s Citywide Pedestrian Plan, Safe Routes to School, area plans like Southwest in Motion and Northwest in Motion, and many more.

Guided by the city's commitment to the elimination of inequities, PBOT prioritizes projects that address inequities in our transportation system. This means ensuring that underrepresented communities have greater mobility, strengthened public engagement and thus access to social and economic growth.

PBOT also follows the city’s Climate Action Plan which impels us to create safer streets that prioritize pedestrians, people biking, and people taking transit as well as more efficient streets for motor vehicles using low-carbon electricity and renewable fuels.

Projects

For each cycle of the local gas tax, a project list builds on these plans and the extensive public input that informed them. Work is also shaped by feedback from community, transportation justice advocates, and business groups. These lits of projects represent what has made the original local gas tax so successful: a relentless focus on repairs and improvements to make it easier and safer for all Portlanders to get where they need to go.

Explore the ongoing work from each period of funding through the voter-approved 10-cent local gas tax:

Local gas tax projects (2020-2024 funding cycle)

Local gas tax projects (2024-2028 funding cycle)

Additional project history can be found at:

Fixing Our Streets annual reports

For more on the work funded through the heavy vehicle use tax (HVUT), visit our Heavy vehicle use tax, explained page.