01340324

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2221-02

http://scholar.google.com...Kuhl&publication_year=2011

This paper presents initial results and conclusions from the National Evaluation of a Mileage-Based Road User Charge, a 2-year field study conducted by the University of Iowa Public Policy Center. The study, which evaluates technical feasibility and user acceptance of mileage-based charging as a potential replacement for the current motor fuel tax, was authorized by the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, which reauthorized federal transportation funding. This study is the first to examine road user charges on a national and multijurisdictional scale. Approximately 2,650 volunteers from 12 areas throughout the country participated in the study, which concluded in July 2010. The system mileage charges were totaled and apportioned to the federal, state, and local levels with the use of onboard computers installed in participants’ vehicles. The onboard computers contained Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers with an associated geographic database to identify the taxing jurisdictions in which the vehicles traveled. The average participant drove approximately 9,000 mi during the study (the study totaled more than 21 million miles). Approximately 92.5% of all driven miles were successfully measured by both the GPS and the onboard diagnostics system (OBD-II). Of the miles driven without GPS, 6.9% could be reliably assigned to jurisdictions by using straightforward interpolation techniques. Approximately 0.6% of total miles driven could not be reliably assigned to a state or local jurisdiction. Participant attitudes regarding the system and the overall concept of mileage-based charging were assessed. At the end of the study, 71% had a highly or somewhat positive view, and 17% held a highly or somewhat negative view. Participants consistently (but to varying degrees) preferred audit ability, which consisted of receiving detailed monthly invoices, over maximum privacy protection.

01352851

11-3972

English

pp 10-18

2011

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309167321

Print

Figures (11) ; References (5) ; Tables (1)

Attitudes; Automatic data collection systems; Field studies; Financing; Fuel taxes; Global Positioning System; Highways; Mileage-based user fees; Public opinion; User charges; Vehicle miles of travel

Invoices; Onboard computers; Onboard diagnostics

Finance; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 17 2011 6:42PM

• Agglomeration Benefits and Transportation Projects: Review of Theory, Measurement, and Application
• Congestion Pricing Study of San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in California
• Cost Estimates for Collecting Fees for Vehicle Miles Traveled
• Distributional Implications of Replacing the Federal Fuel Tax with Per Mile User Charges
• Effectiveness and Equity of Vehicle Mileage Fee at Federal and State Levels
• End of the Highway Trust Fund? Long-Term Options for Funding Federal Surface Transportation
• Measuring Toll Burdens: Applying Lorenz Curves to a Detailed Data Set of Users of Metropolitan Transportation Administration Bridges in New York City
• Peak Period Use of I-15 Corridor in San Diego, California: Long-Term Impact of FasTrak Program
• Reaction to Value Pricing by Different Suburban Populations
• Rethinking the Politics of Freeway Congestion Pricing
• Urban Network Privatization: Example of a Small Network