The Delaware Department of Transportation will join a group of its counterparts in the I-95 Corridor Coalition to test a mileage-based user fee system.
The test can move forward following an announcement by the US Department of Transportation that the I-95 Corridor Coalition’s Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives grant application was selected to receive $1,490,000 in matching federal funds to conduct a Mileage-Based User Fee project.
The look for alternatives come as gas mileage gains from new vehicles and electric cars producing no revenue result in flat or declining fuel tax proceeds.
The grant program is a component of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act designed to demonstrate alternative revenue mechanisms that employ a user fee structure to maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
DelDOT Secretary and I-95 Corridor Coalition Chairperson Jennifer Cohan said, “Our coalition of state DOTs has a demonstrated ability to push innovation and take on challenges that reach beyond state borders. Finding sustainable revenue to replace stagnant fuel tax receipts is clearly a sensitive topic with the public. That makes this project a fantastic opportunity to foster dialogue about how our transportation system is funded, the need for a reliable revenue source and how citizens benefit from the mobility our region provides.”
Wilmington-based AAA-Mid-Atlantic endorsed the test.
“AAA knows our roads and bridges need ongoing repair and the money to make those repairs doesn’t just fall from the sky. Pilot projects, like this one, can test alternative funding solutions to an increase in the gas tax, since support for gas tax increases has wavered. Would drivers prefer a road user fee or paying more in gas taxes? What’s fair and who pays what? These are real questions that will need to be answered,” said Cathy Rossi, vice president, public and government affairs. “Ultimately, drivers who participate in the pilot project will have a voice in telling us how workable a road user fee system is for them as motorists. While AAA believes the federal fuel tax is the best near-term option to increase transportation funding, we are open to exploring other funding options for transportation, so long as transportation dollars are dedicated solely to transportation projects.”
The coalition’s project timetable will include activities to begin addressing the challenges associated with a user-based approach to revenue generation. These will include strategies to address privacy concerns, equity questions, administration costs and out-of-state usage, a release stated.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said, “Investments in transportation infrastructure are critical to create jobs, grow the economy, and protect our people, so it is vital that we have sustainable funding for our roads and bridges. We can be proud of recent steps to strengthen our Transportation Trust Fund, but long-term challenges remain, and I thank Secretary Cohan and her team at DelDOT for leading regional and national innovations to address the reality that the way we supported our transportation system in decades past will not work indefinitely.”
“I always say if something is worth having, then it’s worth paying for, and the bottom line is that the people who use our roads and bridges should pay to maintain them” said U.S. Sen. Tom Carper. “For too long, we’ve shirked our responsibility to adequately fund our country’s transportation system, instead opting to kick the can down the road so somebody else can clean up our budgetary mess. It’s high time we explore more responsible ways to rebuild and maintain our roads, highways and bridges, and this federal grant makes an important investment in doing just that.”
Delaware will be one of several states to conduct 50-vehicle pilot tests in support of the research.
The planning and technical work will be performed by CH2M Hill Engineers, Inc. The firm, and many of the same staff who were responsible for the success of the road usage charge systems in Oregon and are evaluating current efforts in California. Oregon is now operating a voluntary program that allows people to sign up and use tracking devices to record mileage.
The system has already proved to be controversial, with gas tax increase opponents seeing it as a backdoor way to grab revenue.
A proposal by Gov. Jack Markell more than two years to increase the tax by 10 cents a gallon failed and Republicans have claimed that cutting other areas of the state budget and using those savings to move transportation salaries to the general fund would eliminate the need for a higher gas tax.
The state has embarked on an aggressive road improvement program south of the canal, with work on Route 13 and a toll road in the Middletown area.
Neighboring states have upped their gas taxes, including Pennsylvania, a state where both houses are controlled by the GOP.
