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

  • Most Americans support usage fees to pay for transportation infrastructure
    April 29, 2016
    Nearly two-thirds of Americans would support the use of road-usage fee options such as vehicle miles travelled or mileage-based user fees to help fund transportation costs, according to a new America Thinks national public opinion survey conducted by Kelton Global on behalf of infrastructure firm HNTB Corporation. The survey, Transportation Mobility 2016, also found that close to 170 million Americans (69 per cent) agree priced managed lanes should be considered when making improvements to US highways.
  • Success of London's Olympic public transport systems
    December 4, 2012
    The Olympic flame has moved on, allowing review of the relative degrees of London’s 2012 transportation success, how it was done and with what lasting effects. Jon Masters reports. This magazine’s international position provides a good vantage point for assessing impressions left by London’s 2012 Olympic Games. On the whole, it has been only praise and congratulations heard since the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in August and the Paralympics in September. The events looked great and ran smoothly
  • London’s zero-emission plan is premature, warns FTA
    October 24, 2018
    Plans to implement a clean air zone in London are premature, says a transport trade body - because zero-emission vehicles are not commercially viable. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is unimpressed with the City of London Transport Strategy’s ambition to improve air quality and traffic in the east of the capital and the Barbican area by 2022. This draft scheme, which maps out a 25-year framework for managing streets within the City’s ‘Square Mile’, includes establishing a speed limit of 15 mp
  • Will volatile fuel prices increase use of public transport? Or not?
    May 16, 2012
    A day after ITS International published details of a report from The Mobility Collaborative - $4 per gallon gas won't alter driving behaviour, claims national study - the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and Building America's Future (BAF) has released a study which draws the opposite conclusion and predicts that record numbers of Americans will turn to public transportation as a cost-cutting measure in the face of volatile gas prices.