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WhyCongressShouldEnactaMileage-BasedUserFeeforHeavyTrucking

ROBERTD.ATKINSON|APRIL2024

Withthegradualshiftfrominternalcombustiontoelectricvehicles,itisonlyamatteroftimebeforethenationwillhavetoreplacegastaxeswithavehiclemilestraveledsystemtopayforroadmaintenance.Themostsensiblewaytostartwouldbewithheavytrucks.

KEYTAKEAWAYS

.CongresshassupportedvariousMileage-BasedUserFee(MBUF)pilotprograms,butprogressremainsslow.Tobreakoutofthisinertia,CongressshouldmandateanMBUFsystemforheavytrucksintheupcomingSurfaceTransportationReauthorization.

.Startingwithanationalsystemfortruckswouldbemuchmorestraightforwardthanitwouldbeforpassengercars.TrucksalreadyhaveGPS,sothecostofinstallingonboard“computers”tomeasuredistancesandtrackpaymentswouldberelativelyminor.

.AnMBUFsystemforheavytruckswouldpavethewayforautosandlight-dutytruckstobeincludednext.Italsowouldestablishanationalweight-distanceroadtaxtoensureheavytruckspaythefullcostsoftheroaddamagetheycause.

.AnMBUFsystemwouldmakeiteasiertoendthemarket-distortingsubsidiesprovidedtotrucking,increaserevenueforthehighwaytrustfund,andreducedamagetoroadsandbridges.

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CONTENTS

KeyTakeaways 1

Introduction 2

WhatIsanMBUFSystem? 2

WhyTrucks? 4

HowWouldaTruckMBUFSystemWork? 5

TruckingIndustryOpposition 6

Claim1:TruckingAlreadyPaysaLot 6

Claim2:IncreasedPricesforConsumers 6

Conclusion 7

Endnotes 8

INTRODUCTION

Withthealbeitgradualshifttoelectricvehicles(EVs),itisonlyamatteroftimebeforethe

nationwillhavetoadoptanewwaytopayforroadsbasedonavehiclemilestraveled(VMT)

system.Thetechnologyforsuchasystemisalreadyhereandcanbeimplementedtocompletelyprotectprivacy.

1

However,whileCongresshassupportedvariousMileage-BasedUserFee(MBUF)pilotprograms,progressremainsslow.Tobreakoutofthisinertia,intheupcomingSurfaceTransportation

Reauthorization,CongressshouldmandateanMBUFsystemforheavytrucks.Therearetwomainreasonsfordoingthis.First,itwouldpavethewayforanMBUFsystemforautosandlight-dutytrucks.Second,andmoreimportantly,itwouldenableanationalweight-distanceroadtaxtobeestablishedtoensurethatheavytruckspaythefullcostsfortheroaddamagetheycause,

somethingtheydonotappeartodonow.Doingsowouldmeananendtomarket-distorting

subsidiesprovidedtotrucking,increasedrevenueforthehighwaytrustfund,andlessdamagetoroadsandbridges.

WHATISANMBUFSYSTEM?

America’sroadsarepaidforthroughavarietyofmeans:fueltaxes,tiretaxes(fortrucks),vehicleregistrationfees,tolls,generalfundrevenues(includingsalestaxes),andothers.Inthelast

decade,anumberofgovernments,includingsomeforeignandU.S.stategovernments,havebegunexperimentingwithcollectingrevenuedirectlyfromdriversonthebasisoftheirtravel.

Therearemanytermsforthis,includingMBUFs,distance-baseduserfees(DBUFs),avehiclemilestraveledtax(VMTT),androadusagecharges(RUCs).Theideaispaymentsshouldbe

basedonactualtravel,includingtimesofdayandroadstraveledon.Anumberofstates,

includingCalifornia,Colorado,Delaware,Hawaii,Minnesota,Oregon,Pennsylvania,and

Washington,havelaunchedpilotRUCprograms,mostwithpartialfederalfunding,whilea

numberofotherstatesareconsideringsuchprograms.TheU.S.DepartmentofTransportation(DOT)hasfundedanumberofroundsofstateRUCpilotprograms.AmajorfactormotivatinginterestinanMBUFsystemistheconcernthatwiththeexpectedriseofmorefuel-efficient

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vehicles,especiallyEVs,governmentswillbeunabletocollectadequaterevenuestosupporttransportationinfrastructure.

Therearetwomainwaystocollectmileage-basedfees.Thefirstisbasedonasimpleannualodometerreading,withafeebasedonthenumberofmilesavehiclehasdriven.Thisis,

however,nottheoptimalwayofcollectingthefee,becausethecostsimposedonthe

transportationsystemdifferbytimeofday.Travelinglateatnightimposesnocongestion

comparedwithtravelingat8:30AMonanurbanfreeway.Andforheavytrucks,travelingonroadsnotdesignedtohandlesuchvehiclesimposessignificantcosts.ThisiswhytheNationalSurfaceTransportationInfrastructureCommissionrecommendedthatCongresssupportthe

transitiontoanationalMBUFsystembasedononboardunits(OBUs)thatincorporatea

connectiontoAvehicle’sonboarddiagnostic(OBD)port,cellularcommunications,andaGPSreceiver.

2

Everycarproducedsince1996comingequippedwithwhatisknownasanOBDII(second-generationOBD)portmakesthisapproachtechnicallyviable.Thesesystemsare

currentlyused,forexample,tosupportcertainautoinsuranceprogramsthatchargebyhow

customersdrive,whereina“dongle”isinsertedintotheOBDporttomeasuretravelbehavior.AndasmostnewvehiclesalreadycomeequippedwithaGPSchip(forexample,toinformavehicle’sonboardmappingdisplaysystem),thechargescanbebasedontheactualroadacarhastraveledon.

3

AmajorfactormotivatinginterestinanMBUFsystemistheconcernthatwiththeexpectedriseof

morefuel-efficientvehicles,especiallyEVs,governmentswillbeunabletoobtainadequaterevenuestosupporttransportationinfrastructure.

Suchasystemwouldworkasfollows.NewvehicleswouldcomeequippedwithanOBU,aGPS

receiver,andcellular-communicationscapability.Innewvehicles,theOBU(orthevehicle’smappingsystem)wouldcontainadatabasewithalltheroadsintheUnitedStatesand

informationonpricesforeachsegment,includingbytimeofdayandwhatentity(local,state,andfederalgovernmentorprivatetolloperator)wouldreceivethepayment.Whenjurisdictionschangeroadprices,regularupdateswouldbedownloadedtotheOBUs.TheOBUwould

calculatepaymentstoallthejurisdictionsbasedontheroadsegmentsavehicledroveonandthepriceofthesegmentatthetimeoftravel(e.g.,$1.30toMontgomeryCounty,Maryland;

$5.15tothestateofMaryland,and$6.47tothefederalgovernment).Attheendofeach

month,avehicle’sOBUwouldaggregatethevariousfeesandsendapaymenttotheappropriatelocal,state,orfederalagency—oraprivate-roadowner—byautomaticallychargingthevehicleowner’screditcardorbankaccount.Forindividualswithoutacreditcardorbankaccount,thetotalpaymentamountcouldbeaddedtotheirannualorbiennialvehicleregistrationfees.

Importantly,theonlypersonallyidentifiableinformationtheentitieswouldreceivewouldbe

payments—nottimeofdayorroadstraveled.Moreover,thedefaultsettingfortheOBUcouldbetoautomaticallydeletealltripdataaftermonthlypaymentsaremadeandreceived,orfollowingsomefixedperiodafterthatsotravelerscancheckanddisputeanychargestheybelievewere

madeinerror.Othercomplementarysystemscouldalsobeestablished—orevolveastechnologyevolves.Forexample,asystemwouldneedtobedevelopedtoenabledriverswhohaveneitherabankaccountnoracreditcardtoparticipateandpay.Inotherwords,despitethecommon

narrative,anMBUFwouldprotectprivacyandbemoreprivatethancurrentEZ-passtollsystems.

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WHYTRUCKS?

AkeybenefitofdeployingaGPS-basedMBUFsystemwouldbetheabilitytobetteralignthe

costsheavytrucksimposeonthetransportationsystemwiththefeestheypay.Economistsin

general,andtransportationeconomistsspecifically,agreethateconomicallocationefficiencyismaximizedwhenpricesreflectcostsimposed.Ifaneconomicactivityissubsidized—inthecaseofheavytrucks,bynotpayingthefullcoststheyimpose—theeconomywillbelessefficientandoveralloutputwillbeless.

Itisclearthatheavyvehiclesimposegreatercosts.Asoneacademicstudystates,“Asroadwearisverytightlycontrolledbyaxleload,itbecomesapparentthatlargervehiclessuchas[heavy

goodsvehicles]andbuseswillhaveamuchgreaterimpactthancars,relativetothevehicle

weight.”

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Thisisinpartbecausethestudyreinforcedthefindingthatpassengercarsdoalmostnodamagetoroads.Indeed,onestudyreferstoageneralfindingthatthatafive-axle

tractor/semi-trailerhasapavementimpactequivalentto9,600passengercars.

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However,morecarefulanalysisfindsthatthisisonlyonaverysmallshareoftheU.S.highwaysystem.Theratioonmostroadsisintherangeof300to1(1truckcausesasmuchdamageas300cars),but

evenatthislowernumberitisstilllarge.

Itwouldbeonethingiftheseheavydamagevehicleswerealsopayingtheirshareofthetotal

costs,butitappearstheydonot.A2000addendumtoaFederalHighwayAdministration

highwaycostallocationstudyfindsthat80,000-poundtrucksunderpayby20percent,and

90,000-poundtrucksunderpayby50percent,noting,“AnyfutureincreaseinFederalfueltaxeswithoutcorrespondingincreasesintaxesontheheaviesttruckswillfurtherexacerbatethe

underpaymentofFederaluserfeesbyheavytrucks.”

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Statestudieshavefoundsimilarlevelsofunderpaymentbyfreighttrucks.A2015studyof

IndianaroadsbyPurdueUniversityfindsthatheavyvehiclesdonotpaytheirfairshare.

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A2021studyfortheNorthCarolinaDOTfindsthat:

single-unittruckswithfourormoreaxles(FHWAclass7)andallmulti-unittrucksclasses(FHWAclasses8-13)underpayby37%–92%forhighwayinfrastructurecomparedtothedamagetheycause.Insummary,lightweightvehiclesare

currentlysubsidizingthecostresponsibilityofmosttrucksonNorthCarolina’shighwaysystem.

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TheTexasLegislaturerecentlychargedTexasDOTandtheTexasTransportationInstituteto

determinewhetherheavytruckspaytheir“fairshare”(e.g.,paymentsequaltothecoststheyimpose).Andthestudyfinds,perhapstonoone’ssurprise,thattheydonot.Astheleadauthorofstudystated,“Thebigtakeawaysarethat,notsurprising,commercialtrucksandoversizedtruckshavemoredamagecostassociatedwiththemthanrevenues.Sothereisalossthere.

Thereisadeficit.”

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Inotherwords,thestateislosingmoneyanddriversofpassengervehicles,includinglow-incomedrivers,aresubsidizingtruckingcompanies.

Finally,intheInfrastructureInvestmentandJobsAct(IIJA),CongresschargedtheU.S.DOTwithconductingacostallocationstudytoupdatethefederalnumbers.Unfortunately,theDefense

Department(DOD)appearstobemakingslowprogress,astheyareinthe“earlyplanning

stages.”ItiscriticalthatDODcompletethisstudyintimeforCongresstoincorporatetheresultsforthenextsurfacetransportationreauthorizationbill.

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HOWWOULDATRUCKMBUFSYSTEMWORK?

AsuccessfultruckMBUFsystemwouldbedesignedsuchthattrucksoveracertainsizeand

weightwouldberequiredtohaveanOBUthatwouldtellitselfwherethetruckis,thetimeofdayanddayofweek,andthesegmentofroadwaythetruckistravelingon,alongwithitsprice.In

addition,truckswouldberequiredtohavesensorstomeasureweightperaxle.Truckswouldpaybasedonanumberofdifferentfactors:thetruckaxleweight(heaviertruckswouldpaymore);

emissionspermile(“dirtier”truckswouldpaymore);typesofroads(truckswouldpaymoreto

travelonroadsnotdesignedforheavytrucks);andtotalmilesdriven.Theycouldalsobechargedaccordingtotheamountofcongestion,withhigherpricesfordrivingonroadsthatarenormallycongested(e.g.,metropolitanfreewaysorcitycentersduringrushhours).Thesystemcouldbe

setuptocollectandremitbothstateandfederaltaxes.Chargesshouldbesettoensurethatthechronicsubsidizationofheavytruckingiseliminatedandthattrucksassumetheirfull

responsibilities—butatthesametime,don’traisefeessothattrucksaresubsidizingpassengercardrivers.

ImplementingatruckMBUFnowisimportantwiththedevelopmentofeitherhydrogenor

battery-operatedheavy-dutytrucks.OnestudyoftheimpactsbyScottishuniversityresearchersfindsthat“therewillbesignificantandquantifiableadditionalcostsofroadmaintenanceduetotheincreasedweightofZEVs[zero-emissionvehicles]overICE[internalcombustionengine]

vehicles.ThiswillbemarkedlygreaterforBEVs[batteryelectricvehicles]thanforHFCEVs

[hydrogenfuelcellelectricvehicles].”

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Theynotedthatthisonlyappliestoheavytrucksandnotcarsandlighttrucks.

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TheresearchersalsofoundroaddamagefromBEVstobe31percent

higherthanfromICEsand6percenthigherthanfromHFCEVs.

Thebenefitsfromaheavy-truckMBUFwouldultimatelybeadecreaseinpavementdamage,

reducedairemissions,andlessroadcongestion.Inaddition,itwouldleadtoamoreefficientnationalfreighttransportationsystem,asshipperswouldpaythetruecostofshipping,notonebasedongovernmentsubsidies,andinturnchoosethemostefficientformoftransportationforeachshipment.

SuchatruckMBUFsystemissomethingbothconservativesandliberalsshouldsupport.

Conservativesshouldsupportitbecauseoftheirgeneralsupportforfreemarketstodetermine

economicoutcomes.Effectivelysubsidizingfreighttruckingbypayingforroadswithgeneralfundrevenuesandlettingtrucksnotpaytheirfullcostofthedamagestheyimposeisessentially

pickingwinnersandlosers.Itlowersthecostoftruckingandraisestherelativecostofrailand

shipping,distortingfreemarketforces.Themarket—buyersoftransportationservices—shouldbemakingthesedecisions,notCongress.

LiberalsshouldsupportatruckMBUFbecausedoingsowouldmeanlesspressureonthefederalhighwaytrustfundandstatetransportationbudgetsthatgetincreasinglypaidbyboostingcar

registrationfeesandgastaxes.Giventhatlow-incomeAmericanswhoownacardrivefewermilesonaveragethandohigherincomeAmericans,registrationfeesarearegressivewaytofundthe

roads—anditwouldonnetreducedgreenhousegasemissions.

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TRUCKINGINDUSTRYOPPOSITION

Anyindustrythatisprotectedorsubsidizedbygovernmenthasamajorstakeinprotectingthoseadvantages,andthetruckingindustryisnodifferent.IntheiradvocacyagainstatruckMBUF,theymakeanumberofflawedarguments.

Claim1:TruckingAlreadyPaysaLot

Thetruckingindustryclaimsthatsincetrucksalreadypayalotinvariousfeesthatanyincreaseisunfair.Butthat’sabitlikesomeonesayingtheyalreadypayalotontheirmortgage,even

thoughthepaymentsdon’tcovertheprinciple.Theissueisnothowmuchtruckerspay,orwhatthetrendsinpaymentsare;it’showmuchdotheypayrelativetothecoststheyimpose?Andasnoted,theevidencesuggeststhattheindustrydoesnotpayenough.

Ofcourse,thetruckingindustrycriesthatitwouldbediscriminationiftheyweretohavetopaymoreandhaveanMBUF.AsatopofficialattheAmericanTruckingAssociationwroteinalettertoCongress:

Ourindustryhaslongsaidwearewillingtopayourfairsharetofinanceneeded

improvementstoourinfrastructure,andwesupportincreasinguserfees.However,aswemadeclearwhenthistypeoftaxwasfloatedandscuttledlastyear,weareunwillingtobesingledoutwithdiscriminatorytruck-onlyfeestopayforour

nation’sinfrastructureneedsandwillstronglyopposeanyefforttodoso.

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IfhewerecomplainingaboutthepossibilityofCongressraisingtheirfeesabovewhattheiractualcostswere,thenhewouldhavealegtostandon.ButcomplainingthatCongressmightraise

theirfeestocoverthecostsofthedamagetheyarecausingislikeapersonwhobrokeawindowcomplainingtothejudgethatitisunfairforthemtohavetopaythefullcostofrepairingthe

window:“That’sdiscriminatory.Can’tIjustpayhalfandhavealltheneighborspaytherest?”

Claim2:IncreasedPricesforConsumers

Theindustryplaysthesmalltruckersympathycard,claimingwronglythatincreasedfees(to

matchthecoststheyimpose)wouldputindependenttruckersoutofbusinessandraisecostsforconsumers.But,bydefinition,theycan’tdoboth.Eithertruckersabsorbthehigherfeesortheydon’t.Therealityisthatiftruckcostsgoup,twothingswillhappen.First,atthemargin,therewillbeashifttoothershippingmodesforparticularrouteswheretheyareinherentlymore

efficient(air,rail,orships).Thereasonthenewchoiceswouldbemoreefficientisthat,by

definition,ifashipperhastochoosebetweennon-subsidedmodesofshipping,theywillchoosethemostefficientandlowestcost.Thismarket-basedshiftwillmeanhigherproductivityandalargergrossdomesticproduct(GDP)becausetheeconomyisabletoshipthesameamountofgoodswithfewerresourcesdedicatedtoit.

Second,totheextentcostsgoupfortheroutesonwhichshippersstillusetrucks,bydefinition,thecostswillgetpassedontoconsumers,aslongastruckingmarketsarecompetitive.Whiletheindustrymaynotbeabletopassalongallthecostsoftargetedtollstocustomersintheshort

run,truckersshouldbeabletodosointhemoderatetermandlongtermifthefeesarestableorchangedwithsufficientadvancenotice.Iftheydon’tpassthecostsalong,itisanindicatorof

anticompetitivemarketpower.Indeed,aTransportationResearchBoardreportarguesthatthesecostscouldbepassedontocustomers.

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Inotherwords,stable,nondiscriminatorypricing,

possiblysupportedbynationalinformationsystemsthatlettruckersandshippersknowthe

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expectedcostsoftollsforanyparticularroute,shouldnotadverselyaffectthetruckingindustryasawhole—andwouldcertainlynotadverselyaffectthenationalfreightshippingindustry.Onereasonisthataper-milepricingsystemwouldcreateincentivestocombineshipmentsinways

thatminimizetripmileage.Forexample,theGermanheavy-vehiclecomprehensiveroadpricingsystemhasledtoa10percentdropinemptytrucksonlong-distancetrips,a7percentincreaseincontainersmovedbytrain,anda6percentincreaseinthepurchasesoftrucktractorsthat

emitlesspollution(inpartbecausetheirfeewashigherfortruckswithlowmileagepergallon).

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Butthatisnotthefullstory.Becausetruckswouldnowbepayingmoreinroadfees,automobile

andlight-dutytruckdriversandtaxpayerswouldpayless,completelycancelingoutanyincreaseinshippingcosts.Anyargumentthatconsumerswillsufferfromendingtrucksubsidiesisjustwrong.

Finally,becausetruckswouldbepayingthetruecosttheyimposeonthetransportationsystem,therewouldbelessroaddamage,inpartbecausetheywould,atthemargin,switchtomore

efficientandlessdamagingtransportation,suchasfeweremptyloads,morefreightontrucks

withmoreaxles,andlessdrivingonroadsthataredamagedmore.Theresultofthat,ofcourse,isAmericantaxpayershavingtopaylesstorepairroadsandinsteadthatmoneybeingreturnedtothemintheformofeithertaxcutsorincreasedpublicspendingonthingssuchaseducation.

CONCLUSION

AsCongresscraftsreauthorizationoftheSurfaceTransportationAct,itshouldincludeamandateforDOTtoestablishandimplementamandatorynationwideweight-distancetaxthatwouldusemoderntechnologytochargetrucksbytheweightoftheaxlesoneachtruck,thedistances

travelled,andtheparticulartypesofroadatruckwason.

Thevirtueofatruck-firstVMTsystemisthatitistechnicallymuchmorestraightforwardthana

nationalsystemonallpassengercars.TrucksalreadyhaveGPS.Thecostofinstallingan

onboard“computer”tomeasurecostsandpaymentswouldberelativelysmallcomparedwiththecostsofatruckcab.Moreover,oncesuchasystemwasupandrunningandpeoplecouldsee

thatitworkedandhadnoprivacyimplications,thenpublicacceptanceofabroaderVMTsystemwouldbegreater.AndasEVsbecomeabiggerpartofthefleet,awayforthemtopayforusewillbeneeded.

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AbouttheAuthor

Dr.RobertD.Atkinson(@RobAtkinsonITIF)isthefounderandpresidentofITIFandaformerchairofthecongressionallycharteredNationalSurfaceTransportationInfrastructureFinancingCommission.HisbooksincludeTechnologyFearsandScapegoats:40MythsAboutPrivacy,

Jobs,AIandToday’sInnovationEconomy(PalgraveMcMillian,2024),BigIsBeautiful:

DebunkingtheMythofSmallBusiness(MIT,2018),InnovationEconomics:TheRaceforGlobal

Advantage(Yale,2012),Supply-SideFollies:WhyConservativeEconomicsFails,Liberal

EconomicsFalters,andInnovationEconomicsIstheAnswer(RowmanLittlefield,2007),

andThePastandFutureofAmerica’sEconomy:LongWavesofInnovationThatPowerCyclesofGrowth(EdwardElgar,2005).HeholdsaPh.D.incityandregionalplanningfromtheUniversityofNorthCarolina,ChapelHill.

AboutITIF

TheInformationTechnologyandInnovationFoundation(ITIF)isanindependent501(c)(3)

nonprofit,nonpartisanresearchandeducationalinstitutethathasbeenrecognizedrepeatedlyastheworld’sleadingthinktankforscienceandtechnologypolicy.Itsmissionistoformulate,

evaluate,andpromotepolicysolutionsthataccelerateinnovationandboostproductivitytospurgrowth,opportunity,andprogress.Formoreinformation,visit

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about.

ENDNOTES

1.RobertD.Atkinson,“APolicymaker’sGuidetoRoadUserCharges”(ITIF,April2019),

/publications/2019/04/22/policymakers-guide-road-user-charges/.

2.RandCorporation,“MovingTowardVehicleMilesofTravelFeestoReplaceFuelTaxesAssessingthePathForward”(RandCorporation,2011),

/pubs/research_briefs/RB9576/index1.html.

3.MatrackInc.