Mileage-Based User Fees- Defining a Path Toward Implementation: Phase I: Identifying a Research Strategy (UTCM 09-00-16)

This report documents early activities of a two-phase research effort composed of three interrelated components: 1) a technology assessment, 2) an institutional assessment, and 3) a one-day implementation-focused symposium. Each component builds from the mileage-based user fee framework developed with funding in 2008 from the University Transportation Center for Mobility™ ("Feasibility of Mileage-Based User Fees: Application in Rural/Small Urban Areas of Northeast Texas", TRIS Accession Number 01121765). The technology assessment evaluated mileage-based user fee technology configurations currently in use internationally and under study domestically. The technology assessment established what technologies are available for a regional mileage-based user fee system that would best meet the objectives outlined in the user fee framework developed in the previous phase of this research. As part of this effort researchers also assembled a technology assessment team comprised of various specialists in order to provide input on the technologies being discussed. The institutional assessment was conducted in conjunction with the technology assessment and involved the study of various user fee frameworks in place throughout the United States. This assessment aided in determining the most appropriate model to incorporate for a mileage-based user fee system administered by the NET RMA pursuant to the objectives of the mileage-based user fee framework. A one-day symposium in April 2009, conducted in Phase 2 of the project, brought together domestic and international transportation specialists for the purpose of identifying a possible pathway toward full implementation of a mileage-based user fee as a replacement for the fuel tax.