VEHICLE TOLLING & MANAGEMENT By: Julian Holtzman, Dan Moser, and Whitney Schroeder
Background Current Revenue Sources Gas Tax Vehicle registration Ticketing So Why Discuss Tolling?? Not Enough Revenue Collected To Balance Costs VMT Tolling Road Tolling
Background What Is Mileage Tolling? Definitions Mileage Tolling Every period odometers are checked for the amount of miles driven since the last check. The amount of tax is determined by the difference. (EX- $5 per100 miles) Road Tolling Roads with higher volume and major congestion times will have tolls to enter and exit. (EX- Illinois Toll Roads) Origins
Arguments for Road Mileage Tolling Addressing Declining Revenues Fuel Efficiency vs. Gas tax Vehicles with better mileage per gallon use less gasoline. Thus, the gas tax is defeated as a means of collecting enough revenue to support the vehicles travel. Economic Efficiency Fairness, Reduces Congestion Fairness People Pay For What They Use Only People With better MPG Rating Pay Less For Same Amount Of Use.
Arguments for Road Mileage Tolling Economic Efficiency Fairness, Reduces Congestion Congestion reduction People using mass transit reduce congestion during high volume periods. Thus, incentivizing mass transit is a case for Road Tolling. Environmental Benefits Encourages Other Modes Reduces Congestions Bicycles, Light rail, Busses, & Subways Each person using an alternative mode is not using a car. Thus, they are reducing their carbon footprint and congestion.
Tolling Methods Targeted Tolling Area Tolling Cordon System Point Tolling Turnpikes/Toll Lanes Bridges and Tunnels
Targeted Tolling and Pricing Implementation Toll Booths on Specific Lanes Designated Routes Electronic Tolling I-Pass
Tolling Methods Comprehensive Tolling Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) Tolls Charged per Mile or Kilometer Based on Satellite Global Positioning System More Axles = Higher Toll Higher Emissions = Higher Toll Manual Online Payment and On-Road Enforcement System Available Toll Payments in Addition to Existing Motor Fuel Taxes and Other Fees
Comprehensive Tolling and Pricing Oregon Charges Heavy Vehicles Based on Weight & Axles Oregon VMT Pricing Pilot Project (2006) Replace Motor Fuel Taxes with Mileage Charge
Concerns and Criticism Impacts on Privacy Issues Geographic Equity Cordon vs Area Tolling
Concerns and Criticisms (Continued) Socio-Economic or Vertical Equity How are tax burdens distributed among different groups? VMT more or less regressive depending on rate structure, offsetting policies Examples Of Rate Effects On Vertical Equity: Charging only for miles driven (road maintenance) vs. capturing fossil fuel pollution externalities (local, and global) Charging for lost time/congestion externalities sensitivity to price inversely related to disposable income.
Concerns and Criticisms (Continued) Environmental Externalities Fossil Fuels (local air pollution, CO 2 ) Land Use Use of Revenues All successful congestion pricing implementations have been accompanied by a significant transit investment component (Munnich, 2009) Segregated Transportation Funds vs. General Funds
Political Feasibility Case Study: New York
Political Feasibility Case Study: The Netherlands
Lesson for State and Federal Funding Debate Distance Based Pricing doesn t necessarily resolve several politically important questions: Rates set to achieve revenue goals? Donor vs. Donee States? Urban vs. Rural / Geographic Equity Direct Costs Vs. System-wide Efficiency And Equity Spillover and Capture
Conclusion VMT or distance based road tolling: potential to precisely and fairly charge for use of road infrastructure and externalities possible with current technologies, though issues of implementation, cost and standardization remain. politically acceptable only if sufficiency, equity, privacy, convenience, transparency, and use of revenues can be resolved.
Sources Coyle, David From Fuel Taxes to Mileage-Based User Fees: Rationale, Technology, and Transitional Issues Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota. August 2011. De Palma, A. and Lindsey, R. Traffic congestion pricing methodologies and technologies Transportation Research Part C, 2011. Eisses, Stephan. The Distance Based Charging Project in the Netherlands. 2009 Munnich, L. Enhancing liveablity and sustainability by linking congestion pricing with transit 89 th Meeting of the Transit Research Board, Washington D.C. 2009 Schaller, Bruce New York s congestion pricing experience and implications for road pricing acceptance in the U.S. Transportation Policy 17 (266-273), 2010.
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