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.

Related Content

  • July 30, 2021
    AI is creating road maintenance savings
    Artificial intelligence is starting to create savings for hard-pressed local authorities when it comes to road maintenance. David Crawford reviews recent advances in cost and performance control
  • October 3, 2014
    IBTTA commends new report on infrastructure planning
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has responded to the joint report by the Eno Center for Transportation and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which highlights the benefits of life cycle cost analysis in planning transportation infrastructure projects. Executive director and CEO Pa trick D. Jones said: “We commend ENO and ASCE for issuing an important report, Maximizing the Value of Investments Using Life Cycle Cost Analysis. This report is especially timely
  • December 18, 2018
    California to require all bus fleets to be zero-emission by 2040
    The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a statewide regulation which will require public transit agencies to gradually transition to fully zero emission buses by 2040. The Clean Transit regulation is expected to help transit agencies reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19 million metric tonnes, nitrogen oxides by 7,000 tonnes and particulate matter by 40 tonnes from 2020 to 2050. CARB says the regulation will improve air quality, especially in low-income communities. It could also help
  • March 7, 2013
    App to give real-time estimate of bus arrival time
    Florida’s Hillsborough Area Rapid Transit Authority (HART) is testing a smartphone application that would inform passengers in real time when buses will arrive. The OneBusAway pilot project is part of HART’s ongoing effort to provide bus information on mobile devices, officials said. The system would allow users to enter a numeric code for their bus stop and receive information on the length of time before the bus reaches them. A HART survey found that more than half of 400 respondents indicated real-time i