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It’s the estimated gap in revenue between what the Oregon Department of Transportation Department figures it needs in a year for transportation operations and maintenance and what it gets.

One way or the other, guess who is likely to end up paying? How should it be paid? Do we really need it all?

ODOT says there is a gap in the revenue for customer service, for road preservation, safe routes to schools, bike and pedestrian networks and more. That gap doesn’t include big construction projects, such as along I-5 and I-205 or even the Bend Parkway. It’s about keeping what we have.

Democrats .

“We need to be able to have some courageous conversations about how to fill that gap that is stable, sustainable and diversified,� said state Senate President Rob Wagner of Lake Oswego.

Republicans were talking about the need.

“With the advent of electric vehicles — whether they are plug-ins or not — we have to talk about a road usage charge,� said state Rep. Kevin Mannix of Salem.

The need piece of the puzzle and the revenue pieces of the puzzle don’t fit together.

The average driver is consuming about 25% less fuel a year than 10 years ago. That means less gas tax revenue. And Oregon does not have funding mechanisms for transportation that are resistant to inflation. Costs of highway construction have gone up by more than 80% since 2017. Paint costs have gone up. Equipment costs have gone up.

Legislators on the did not stare on Friday with mouths agape at the $1.8 billion number. The numbers have changed a bit, but officials from ODOT have been telling legislators this. Legislators were actually pointing out other costs and projects and funding problems to fix. They know this stuff.

Remember when the Oregon Department of Transportation said it wouldn’t have enough money to plow roads as often this past winter? Legislators had been warned about it. It was left out there — orphaned with inadequate funding. Legislators didn’t act in 2023. And then after a ruckus was raised about not plowing and other things, legislators found the money. They still haven’t found, though, what is now estimated to be $1.8 billion a year.

The gas tax people pay at the pump is a failing tax. There is also money coming in from heavy trucks, which has issues that need to be sorted out. And there are DMV fees.

The future could include those and a road usage charge – paying by the miles a vehicle travels, tolling, and/or additional fees on electric vehicles. There will be a push to automatically tie them all to inflation.

Legislators have just begun a road show to travel around the state, sharing this information and gathering input. What do Oregonians want their transportation system to look like? How do they want to fund it? The event planned for Bend isn’t coming until September.

Oregonians are going to want more than just the basics. They will want to see a place where the needs and the assumptions behind them are explained in detail.

ODOT already has an excellent, informative, short video laying out some of the problems, . The next question is: Where is the excellent, informative, short video showing options for how tax and fee packages could be structured?

There are about 4.2 million people in Oregon. So a crude calculation would mean roughly $428 more per person per year.