Browsing by Subject "Fuel taxes"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Funding Surface Transportation in Minnesota: Past, Present, and Prospects
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2010-01) Zhao, Zhirong (Jerry); Das, Kirti Vardhan; Becker, Carol
    Transportation systems play an imperative role in enhancing the productivity and the quality of life in the United States. The funding and financing of transportation is a complex process requiring joint efforts of federal, state, and local governments. To meet current and future transportation needs, policymakers must constantly assess the mechanism of transportation finance to ensure adequate and sustainable investment. In recent years, depleting state and local budgets and growing capital and maintenance costs related to transportation have been a common challenge. The state of Minnesota is estimated to have billions in unmet transportation needs to keep up with inflation and the increase in transportation demands. This report reviews the funding of public surface transportation systems (including highways, transit and local roads) in Minnesota. We look at how transportation projects have been funded, identify current and future policy issues likely to affect transportation funding, and go over some of the funding options suggested by other researchers. The aim is to encourage better understanding and management of issues related to transportation funding in Minnesota.
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    Highway Cost Allocation and Determination of Heavy Freight Truck Permit Fees
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2012-07) Gupta, Diwakar; Chen, Hao-Wei
    Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and other state DOTs periodically carry out studies to assess how highway construction and maintenance (HCM) expenditures ought to be attributed to various vehicle classes. In parallel, each vehicle-class’ contribution to revenues from fuel and excise taxes and permit fees are calculated. Although, the latter are determined by the state legislature, the cost-to-revenue ratio helps inform MnDOT if changes to policy could be justified. A variety of methods have been developed to apportion HCM costs to different user classes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate pros and cons of different HCA methods and to identify/develop a methodology best suited for conditions in Minnesota. Researchers also carried out a highway cost allocation study (HCAS) using the latest data from Minnesota. In addition, the methodology developed in this project can be used to evaluate damage costs to the road system from permitting more than 80,000-lb gross vehicle weight trucks on Minnesota roads and the users’ willingness to pay for such permits.
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    Why States Toll: An Empirical Model of Finance Choice
    (University of Bath, 2001) Levinson, David M
    This paper examines the question of why some states impose tolls while others rely more heavily on gas and other taxes. A model to predict the share of street and highway revenue from tolls is estimated as a function of the share of non-resident workers, the policies of neighboring states, historical factors, and population. The more non-resident workers, the greater the likelihood of tolling, after controlling for the miles of toll road planned or constructed before the 1956 Interstate Act. Similarly if a state exports a number of residents to work out-of-state and those neighboring states toll, it will be more likely to retaliate by imposing its own tolls than if those states don't. The policy implications for the future of congestion pricing are clear, if hard to implement. Decentralization of finance and control of the road network from the federal to the state, metropolitan and city and county levels of government will increase the incentives for the highway-managing jurisdiction to impose tolls. And tolls are a necessary prerequisite for an economically efficient strategy of congestion pricing.