Obama Seeks Oil Tax To Fund Clean Transport

US President Barack Obama is to propose a new $10 a barrel fee on oil in his final budget plan next week.

The proposal is part of the administration's plan to boost the nation's investments in clean transportation, the White House says.

His aides told Politico the revenue would help pump more than $300bn over the next decade into such projects as bullet trains, self-driving cars, subways, buses and light rail.

The proposed fee, which would be paid by oil companies, is unlikely to go far in the Republican-controlled US Congress.

But the White House hopes next Tuesday's budget will spark a conversation about sustainable alternatives to driving and flying.

Petrol (LSE: 0IMR.L - news) costs are at rock-bottom, and the proposed tax could add 25 cents a gallon to the price of filling up at the pump.

The administration has spent billions laying the groundwork for high-speed rail since a 2009 stimulus bill.

Some of the funds have gone towards a bullet train that would travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours and 40 minutes.

After years of political wrangling, that $68bn project began construction last month.