According to House Bill 542, the tax money generated from charging more at the on gasoline would help with highway priority projects and preservation.

Debra Bourgeois of Opelousas says she’s an Uber driver. Bourgeois says she spends gas to get to Lafayette where she hopes to find more customers. “If I get what we call an decent fair out in say Kaplan; it’s only $15 dollars. I’m going to spend $7 dollars getting to Lafayette.  I’m not able to sit in Kaplan hoping to get a fare and make money getting back.”

The proposal would also increase the gas tax by 6 cents in 2019, then two cents every other year through 2031. The same goes for diesel fuel. “It’s a lot of transportation and we spend a lot of money on the roads doing that. I run a small farm which I burn diesell.  It’s going to affect that.”

Breaux Bridge council member Ernest “EJ” Ledet owns Bridge City Taxi. Ledet says he has the only taxi service in Breaux Bridge.  He understands the need to fix roads but says small business owners rely on every penny to stay afloat. “I am a little business i kind of need my nickel and dimes and the good roads aren’t going to do me too much because I can’t afford to go anywhere any way.””

For others, paying more at the pump to fix roads and bridges may be worth it. “Because they need to fix the roads in Louisiana,” consumer Samuel Allen explained.