VMT Fee
When transportation spending was last reauthorized, rather than hike the gas tax to maintain current spending, Congress diverted general fund revenue. A program to study alternative revenue options was created so states could launch pilot projects.
Transport Topics
Delaware and Pennsylvania will join a small, select number of western states that have explored technology to charge drivers by the miles they drive, not the fuel they burn, to fill their transportation budgets in lieu of fuel taxes.
WTOP
Two new reports on transportation funding issued in advance of the July 4th weekend focus attention on gas prices and vehicle travel. Seven states will increase gas taxes on July 1 according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
A mileage fee applicable only to heavy trucks is floated as a third option to close the road funding gap in Wisconsin. The other two options are hiking gas taxes, which is opposed by Gov. Scott Walker, or adding road tolls.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Colorado residents are now being recruited to participate in a four-month program to evaluate how motorists react to being charged by the mile driven rather than gallon of fuel burned. Sagging fuel tax revenues are the impetus for the pilot program.
The Denver Post
The U.S. Department of Transportation is funding ways to transition from the gas tax to other user-based revenue mechanisms to fund transportation infrastructure. The federal gas tax hasn't keep pace with transportation expenditures since 2008.
U.S. D.O.T. Press Release
'Big Brother' has long been voiced as a criticism of charging motorists by the mile driven, but in the ongoing Oregon road usage charge program, more than 75 percent of volunteer enrollees opted for a recording technology with GPS.
Planetizen
A bill to provide $750 million in road and bridge financing was signed by Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday after stripping a provision to apply for a federal grant to conduct a pilot program similar to the California Road Charge Pilot.
The Republican
California began the Road Charge Pilot Program on July 1 to see how participants would respond to being charged by the mile driven rather than by gallons of fuel consumed. Participants may now have received their first 'mock' invoices.
KPCC
A year ago Massachussetts looked like it could be one of the next states to adopt a vehicle mileage fee program. Not likely under this governor. Baker opposes an amendment that allows the state to apply for federal grant funding to study VMT fees.
The Republican
Connecticut state legislators may not like vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) fees, but that hasn't stopped the state Department of Transportation from joining other states in applying for $2.1 million from the U.S. DOT to study the road user fee.
The Hartford Courant
Two notable transportation developments occur in California on July 1. First, a pilot road charge program begins—5,000 motorists will be charged by the mile driven. Second, the gas tax drops by 2.2 cents. An analysis by ITEP looks at both.
Tax Justice Blog
$15 million in a U.S. Department of Transportation grant program is now available for states to implement pilot projects based on a "user-based alternative revenue mechanism," aka vehicle-miles-traveled fee.
Planetizen
California's Road Charge Pilot Program is set to start this July. Applications for the 5,000 volunteers are being collected. Three companies hope to entice participants to select their programs by offering them 'high-tech perks.'
FutureStructure
Federal transportation leaders recognize that sustainable transportation funding options are needed to meet America's infrastructure needs. At AASHTO's Annual Washington Briefing, different funding strategies were proposed by key Congress members.
AASHTO Journal
The Congressional Budget Office takes aim at transportation funding and spending. It notes with alarm a $143 billion federal subsidy since 2008 and recommends charging motorists directly via vehicle-miles-traveled fees and road tolls.
Congressional Budget Office
In the wake of voter rejection of automatic indexing of the state gas tax, Massachusetts legislators may do away with the tax altogether. They are considering a trial of the Oregon model of road usage charge.
Eagle-Tribune
All eyes are on Oregon as it rolls out its road usage charge program, known as OReGO. So far Oregonians have been slow on the uptake.
Better Roads
One would expect the Utah Taxpayers Association to oppose county measures to increase general sales taxes by .25 percent to fund transportation programs, so their endorsement of an alternative revenue option, the mileage fee, is surprising.
Utah Taxpayers Association
Eric Jaffe's July 1 article in CityLab has 18 reasons, and not one in opposition. The date is significant as it marks the official kickoff of the Oregon Road Usage Charge program.
CityLab
