(Radio Iowa) – The amount of taxes collected that go to fund road projects in the state has remained strong despite some decreases in travel brought on by higher gas prices. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Shawn Majors says 95 percent of the road use tax fund comes from the fuel tax, registration fees and taxes on the sale of new and used vehicle sales. “One of the reasons we’ve seen favorable numbers as far as our revenue has been, our fee for new registration numbers that have come in this year this year so far. And I would say that based on the initial numbers we’re seeing for the November receipts, that will continue next month, Majors says.

Majors says the registration revenue is not as much as it was prior to COVID. “But definitely higher than we anticipated, given all the impacts of COVID and inflation. I guess that’s one thing I have been a little surprised about that we still continue to see really good numbers for the fees for new registration,” he says. A chip shortage has cut the number of new car sales — which has in turn driven up the cost of used cars — an new registration fees are based on the cost of the vehicle.

“That’s the biggest thing as far as how we’ve made up that balance of not having as much inventory out there for new vehicles — is those increased costs for used vehicles,” Major says. Majors made his comments in a report to the state Transportation Commission.