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The UK government is investigating the development of such as system as a way to reduce traffic congestion and pollution emissions. This approach is widely supported by economists because it is more efficient and equitable than fuel taxes or special congestion fees imposed in just a few cities. Note that these are not new fees - they are designed to be revenue neutral (they would be offset by reductions in vehicle registration charges).
They are simply intended to make pricing of road use more accurately reflect costs.
Many trucks already have GPS-systems installed to track their location, and in the next few years an increasing portion of new vehicles will be built with such systems factory-installed. At the same time, fuel tax revenues are decling in real terms due to a combination of increased fuel efficiency (at least from 1980-2000), increased use of alternative fuels, inflation, and a failure to increase fuel taxes with inflation. Although I think that the best short-term solution is to increase fuel taxes and index them for inflation (see and Todd Litman, "Appropriate Response To Rising Fuel Prices," VTPI, 2004), it makes sense to begin thinking about other approaches to pricing road use. The Oregon study you criticize is simply an investigation of what such a system would look like, its relative benefits and costs.
- Todd Littman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
For more information see:
David Forkenbrock, A New Approach to Assessing Road User Charges, University of Iowa Public Policy Center (www.uiowa.edu/~ppc/itsprospectus.html), 2000.
H.M. Treasury, Modernising the Taxation of the Haulage Industry: Lorry Road User Charge, UK Ministry for Transport (www.dft.gov.uk/itwp/lorryroad/parttwo/index.htm), 2003.
Innovative Finance for Surface Transportation (www.innovativefinance.org) is an Internet based clearinghouse providing information on innovations in road pricing and user fees.
Per Kågeson, Efficient Charging Of Heavy Goods Vehicles, Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications Analysis (www.sika-institute.se), 2003.
Todd Litman, "Distance-Based Charges; A Practical Strategy for More Optimal Pricing," VTPI (http://www.vtpi.org), 1999.
Todd Litman, Socially Optimal Transport Prices and Markets, VTPI (www.vtpi.org), 2003.
Todd Litman, Pay-As-You-Drive Pricing For Insurance Affordability, VTPI (www.vtpi.org), 2004.
Oregon Road User Fee Task Force Website (www.odot.state.or.us/ruftf) reports on research to evaluate new revenue collection options. Also see Practical Development of the Mileage Fee (www.odot.state.or.us/ruftf/pdfs/03Nov21MileageFee.pdf).
Barry Ryan and Thomas F. Stinson, Road Finance Alternatives: An Analysis of Metro-Area Road Taxes, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota (www.cts.umn.edu), March 2002.
T&E, Counting the Kilometres - And Paying for Them; How to Introduce an EU Wide Kilometre Charging System, European Federation for Transport and Environment (www.t-e.nu), 2000.
"Distance-Based Charges," Online TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm10.htm)
The UK government is investigating the development of such as system as a way to reduce traffic congestion and pollution emissions. This approach is widely supported by economists because it is more efficient and equitable than fuel taxes or special congestion fees imposed in just a few cities. Note that these are not new fees - they are designed to be revenue neutral (they would be offset by reductions in vehicle registration charges).
They are simply intended to make pricing of road use more accurately reflect costs.
Many trucks already have GPS-systems installed to track their location, and in the next few years an increasing portion of new vehicles will be built with such systems factory-installed. At the same time, fuel tax revenues are decling in real terms due to a combination of increased fuel efficiency (at least from 1980-2000), increased use of alternative fuels, inflation, and a failure to increase fuel taxes with inflation. Although I think that the best short-term solution is to increase fuel taxes and index them for inflation (see and Todd Litman, "Appropriate Response To Rising Fuel Prices," VTPI, 2004), it makes sense to begin thinking about other approaches to pricing road use. The Oregon study you criticize is simply an investigation of what such a system would look like, its relative benefits and costs.
- Todd Littman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
For more information see:
David Forkenbrock, A New Approach to Assessing Road User Charges, University of Iowa Public Policy Center (www.uiowa.edu/~ppc/itsprospectus.html), 2000.
H.M. Treasury, Modernising the Taxation of the Haulage Industry: Lorry Road User Charge, UK Ministry for Transport (www.dft.gov.uk/itwp/lorryroad/parttwo/index.htm), 2003.
Innovative Finance for Surface Transportation (www.innovativefinance.org) is an Internet based clearinghouse providing information on innovations in road pricing and user fees.
Per Kågeson, Efficient Charging Of Heavy Goods Vehicles, Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications Analysis (www.sika-institute.se), 2003.
Todd Litman, "Distance-Based Charges; A Practical Strategy for More Optimal Pricing," VTPI (http://www.vtpi.org), 1999.
Todd Litman, Socially Optimal Transport Prices and Markets, VTPI (www.vtpi.org), 2003.
Todd Litman, Pay-As-You-Drive Pricing For Insurance Affordability, VTPI (www.vtpi.org), 2004.
Oregon Road User Fee Task Force Website (www.odot.state.or.us/ruftf) reports on research to evaluate new revenue collection options. Also see Practical Development of the Mileage Fee (www.odot.state.or.us/ruftf/pdfs/03Nov21MileageFee.pdf).
Barry Ryan and Thomas F. Stinson, Road Finance Alternatives: An Analysis of Metro-Area Road Taxes, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota (www.cts.umn.edu), March 2002.
T&E, Counting the Kilometres - And Paying for Them; How to Introduce an EU Wide Kilometre Charging System, European Federation for Transport and Environment (www.t-e.nu), 2000.
"Distance-Based Charges," Online TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm10.htm)