Skip to main content

California pilots road charge as alternative to fuel tax

As the California Road Charge Pilot Program enters its fourth month, participant feedback indicates that 65 per cent of 3,191 respondents surveyed are satisfied with the program as a whole. The nine-month pilot was launched on 1 July 2016 by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to test a pay-by-the-mile road funding model as a possible replacement to the fuel tax. Over 5,000 vehicles state-wide are enrolled in the pilot, testing various road charging reporting methods to compare how the
October 17, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
As the California Road Charge Pilot Program enters its fourth month, participant feedback indicates that 65 per cent of 3,191 respondents surveyed are satisfied with the program as a whole.

The nine-month pilot was launched on 1 July 2016 by the 923 California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to test a pay-by-the-mile road funding model as a possible replacement to the fuel tax. Over 5,000 vehicles state-wide are enrolled in the pilot, testing various road charging reporting methods to compare how the performance of each concept measures against an established set of criteria. Participants are not actually paying a road charge, but are making simulated payments based on the number of miles they drive each month.

Officials are looking at a road charge as a potential replacement for the fuel tax because revenues currently available for highway and local roads are insufficient for preserving and maintaining road infrastructure and reducing congestion. Increasing vehicle fuel efficiency means that fewer gallons of fuel are being purchased, but more cars are using California’s roads and the wear and tear on roads is increasing.

At the conclusion of the pilot, an independent third party will evaluate the pilot results and California State Transportation Agency will submit a report to the Legislature by July 2017 that includes those findings and summarises the pilot volunteers’ experiences and the stakeholder input received throughout all phases of the process.  The California Transportation Commission will then provide its recommendations to the Legislature in its annual report by December 2017. The Legislature will make the final decision on whether and how to enact a full-scale permanent road charge program.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • When speed compliance becomes a safety issue
    March 29, 2017
    David Crawford finds that softly, softly can be safely, safely when it comes to speed enforcement. Comedians and controversial TV presenters have long made jokes about having to watch the speedometer so closely as they pass speed camera after speed camera that they mow down bus queues. But the joke may have some factual basis according to a study by researchers from the University of Western Australia.
  • Here: AI has place in ‘privacy by design’
    June 23, 2020
    Artificial intelligence may improve traffic in cities and keep location data private, but Here Technologies shows that it only takes four points of anonymous data to predict your identity.
  • Cruise says it 'fell woefully short' in aftermath of October 2023 collision
    January 26, 2024
    Law firm report into reaction to AV incident in San Francisco finds 'mistakes in judgment'
  • eCall Interoperability challenges – e-call testfest reports
    November 13, 2014
    Organised by Ertico-ITS Europe and ETSI, the third eCall testfest was held at CTAG in Spain at the end of October, joined by new IVS (in vehicle system) and PSAP (public safety answering point) vendors from all over the world. The event was supported by CETECOM, the European Commission and the HeERO2 project. During the five days of the event, hundreds of pairing sessions were organised. Each session, lasting two hours, allowed one IVS unit to test with one PSAP unit or against a test system. This set