In The News

Mileage-based roadway user fee technically possible

NEW YORK — With infrastructure needs far out-stripping funding from current taxes, a mileage-based fee is technically possible and is a fair way to collect funds needed to meet North America’s infrastructure needs, the head of a transportation technology company told the 5,000 delegates of the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems here.

“With key transportation leaders seeking an annual increase in infrastructure spending as great as $50 billion per year, we must look at alternatives to the motor fuel tax, especially in the long term when fuel tax revenue will decline because of fuel economy, alternative fuels and a long-term increase in oil prices,” said Martin Capper, CEO of MARK IV IVHS.

To raise $ 50 billion annually with fuel taxes would require an increase in the current federal motor fuels tax of about 28 cents-per-gallon. A 2 cent-per-mile user fee would raise the same amount based only on activity in the top 100 major Metropolitan areas. Nationally the revenue collected would be substantially more.

“Because of its inherent fairness in allocating costs to system users, a per-mile fee is one option that should be considered,” added Capper. “5.9 GHz is proven and could be utilized to implement such a new fee, as well as offering coast-to-coast ubiquity for motorists in applications that today utilize disparate technologies such as electronic toll collection.”

5.9 GHz has moved past the theoretic stage with successful field testing in California and Detroit during 2008, according to MARK IV. Once in place, a 5.9 GHz open-architecture system would be available for many additional applications, including a mileage-based fee to support infrastructure.

MARK IV IVHS supplies the majority of electronic toll collection equipment in the northeastern United States. With more than 17 million transponders on the road and more than 3,000 lanes equipped, MARK IV is the largest supplier of its kind in North America. MARK IV technology has enabled interoperability between truck electronic preclearance systems and toll collection, numerous border crossing projects and, the E-ZPass(R) system of the Interagency Group of 24 toll authorities.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected].