New legislation to change D.C.’s gasoline tax would ensure that Virginia remains the place to go for Washington-area drivers seeking a cheap fill-up, transportation experts say.

The D.C. Council gave initial approval to a change that would scrap the city’s 23.5-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline for an 8.3 percent tax on wholesale gas, following the lead of neighboring Maryland and Virginia, which also overhauled their gas taxes earlier this year. Because the council included a limit on how low that tax can go, drivers would be paying the same or more, but not less, in taxes at D.C. pumps in years to come.