Browsing by Subject "Vehicle miles of travel"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    From Fuel Taxes to Mileage-Based User Fees: Rationale, Technology, and Transitional Issues
    (Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2011-08) Coyle, David; Robinson, Ferrol; Zhao, Zhirong; Munnich, Lee; Lari, Adeel
    Two national commissions established by the U.S. Congress recommend replacing the current system of funding transportation based on fuel taxes with a new distance-based system of user fees. The State of Oregon has done a pilot project demonstrating a system for transitioning to mileage-based fees by paying the fees at the gas pump. The University of Iowa has conducted pilot tests around the country to determine how drivers respond to a mileage-based fee approach using GPS-based technology. The Puget Sound Regional Council has conducted a test of congestion tolling. Finally, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is testing an approach for collecting mileage-based user charges using commercially available smartphones with built-in GPS devices, in which the charge element is just one of the applications. While there have been discussions among many transportation leaders regarding why fuel taxes are no longer a good way of funding the transportation system, there is by no means a public understanding of why this is so. The public assumes that the taxes they pay at the pump are paying for the system, and that if funding problems exist, they are due to waste and inefficiency. This examination–of the rationale, technology, and transitional issues in shifting from a financing system for surface transportation based on fuel taxes to one that is based on a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) traveled or vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) fee–sets the stage for a policy discussion on transportation-related user fees and lays the groundwork for an extensive public outreach effort.
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    Mileage-Based User Fee Policy Study: Supporting Technical Information
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, Research Services, 2012-04) Munnich, Lee; Doan, John; Schmit, Matt
    The Mileage-Based User Fee (MBUF) Policy Study Supporting Technical Information document is intended to offer necessary detail regarding the work performed and reviewed as part of the MBUF Policy Study. The document serves to complement the separate MBUF Policy Task Force Report; it summarizes activity within and inputs informing all phases of the MBUF Policy Study process, including findings from: Greater Minnesota listening sessions; 2011 MBUF Symposium in Breckenridge, CO; perspectives from national experts; national expert and transportation finance roundtable events; Internet panel survey of Minnesotans; and additional targeted outreach. The MBUF Policy Study was commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to identify and evaluate issues related to potential future implementation of an MBUF system in Minnesota. Under a potential MBUF system, drivers would be charged based on the number of miles they drive, regardless of the type of energy source used to propel the vehicle, instead of being charged by the gallon for fuel consumed in operating a vehicle. Over a period of approximately one year, the MBUF Project Management Team – comprised of individuals from MnDOT and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, as well as consultants – secured valuable quantitative and qualitative policy feedback, drove completion of several deliverables including development of potential MBUF business models, and staffed a Policy Task Force.
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    Motorization Trends In Minnesota
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2023-06) Fonseca, Camila; Zeerak, Raihana; Lari, Adeel; Zhao, Jerry
    The analysis of motorization trends in the state of Minnesota is important because it reveals changes in driving behavior that impact transportation planning and funding across the state. Changes in traveling habits have implications for transportation revenue streams in Minnesota, particularly for roadway infrastructure investment. This report presents an analysis of motorization and highway and roadway funding trends in Minnesota between 1980 and 2021. Key motorization patterns include the number of registered vehicles, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), fuel consumption, and vehicle crashes. In addition, this report analyses the evolution of roadway revenues and expenses at the federal, state, and local levels. The analysis in this report includes an overview of the general trends for the state as well as an overview of the changes by county. Data for the analysis come from the Minnesota Transportation Finance Database. The report has several interesting findings about motorization in Minnesota. For instance, the number of registered vehicles has continually increased since 1980, although it has slowed since the 2000s. However, the number of registered vehicles per capita and per county indicate significant declines in recent years. Similarly, the number of alternative fuel vehicles, particularly electric vehicles (EVs), has been increasing. Distance traveled, measured by VMT, and fuel consumption increased, although their per capita measures have also decreased, particularly since 2020. Lastly, while overall the number of vehicle crashes has declined since 2004, the number of fatal crashes rose significantly in 2021. Overall, Minnesota's trends are consistent with the national pattern. The persistence of these trends in the future will have consequences in future roadway funding. In particular, fuel consumption and its long-term declines due to increases in fuel efficiency standards could cause continuous revenue reductions unless the state roadway funding structure is adjusted.
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    Motorization Trends in Minnesota
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2019-02) Zhao, Jerry; Lari, Adeel; Fonseca, Camila; Bean, Nate
    The analysis of motorization trends in the state of Minnesota is important because it reveals changes in driver behavior that impact transportation planning and funding across the state. Changes in traveling habits have implications for transportation revenue streams in Minnesota, particularly for roadway infrastructure investment. This report presents an analysis of motorization and highway and roads funding trends in Minnesota between 1980 and 2016. Key motorization patterns include the number of registered vehicles, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and fuel consumption. In addition, this report analyses the evolution of roadway revenues and expenses at the federal, state, and local levels. The analysis in this report includes an overview of the general trends for the state as well as an overview of the changes by county. Data for the analysis come from the Minnesota Transportation Finance Database. The report has several interesting findings about motorization in Minnesota. For instance, the number of registered vehicles has continually increased since 1980, although it has slowed since the 2000s. Over the same period of time, distance travelled, measured by VMT, and fuel consumption increased, although their per capita measures have been decreasing. Overall, Minnesota?s trends are consistent with the national pattern. The persistence of these trends in the future will have consequences in future roadway funding. In particular, fuel consumption and its long term declines due to increases in fuel efficiency standards could cause continuous revenue reductions unless the state roadway funding structure is adjusted.
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    Potential Benefits of Mileage-Based User Fees to the Freight Industry and Industry Concerns
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2012-08) Robinson, Ferrol O.; Coyle, David D.; McCullough, Gerard J.
    The concept of funding surface transportation infrastructure through fees charged on miles driven has been receiving growing attention from transportation professionals and researchers in recent years. Highway funding in the United States has traditionally been done through user fees, most notably motor vehicle fuel taxes. However, there are growing concerns among some policymakers that fuel taxes no longer serve as an adequate, sustainable, efficient, nor equitable user fee. Recognizing the problems that arise when surface transportation is funded through motor fuel taxes, several entities, both in the United States and abroad, have conducted pilot projects or have implemented mileage-based fees. Several of these have been specifically designed for heavy trucks. There are two major concerns related to truck travel: (1) heavy trucks consume a great deal of roadway capacity due to their size, operating characteristics, and annual miles traveled; and (2) roadway wear and tear caused by the combination of truck mileage and heavy loads is significant and disproportionate to the number of trucks on the road. The concept of mileage-based user fees has seen increasing support from a number of groups in recent years; however, it faces opposition from many in the general public, and in particular from the trucking industry – which largely objects to this approach to funding transportation. This paper is part of a larger effort exploring the benefits to the freight industry of mileage-based user fees, while highlighting industry concerns over its implementation.