Implementable Strategies for Shifting to Direct Usage-Based Charges for Transportation Funding

NCHRP Acknowledgments This study was requested by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and conducted as part of National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 20-24. NCHRP is supported by annual voluntary contributions from the state departments of transportation (DOTs). NCHRP Project 20-24 provides funds for research studies intended to address specific needs of chief executive officers (CEOs) and other top managers of DOTs. Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, Transit Development Corporation, or AOC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. Disclaimer The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the research agency. They are not necessarily those of the NCHRP project panel members, This report presents an analysis of ways that direct charges to road users, based on vehicle-miles of travel (VMT), could be implemented within approximately the next 5 years. VMT fees are possibly an alternative or supplement to fuel taxes that for many decades have been a principal mechanism for funding the transportation system. This document describes trends in fuel-tax revenue and VMT growth that suggest the motivation for considering such fees, and then describes how currently available technology and administrative structures might be used to implement direct usage-based charges. The analysis is informed by recent trials conducted by several states. The information will be useful to national-and state-level policy makers and to government officials and others who may be engaged in evaluating, designing, and implementing such direct usage-based charges. For close to a century, motor-vehicle fuel taxes have been the primary source of funds supporting construction and operation of the nation's highways. Adopted as a means to charge road users for the costs of the system, these taxes are levied on a cents-per-gallon basis and must periodically be raised to offset …