Thinking Beyond the Gas Tax: A Case Study Analysis of a Road User Charge System for Texas

Abstract

Surface transportation funding in the U.S. is heavily reliant on fuel taxes that are becoming less effective as fuel efficiency increases and alternative fuel vehicles become more common. This report examines the benefits and challenges of using road user charges (RUCs) of various types to address this issue, before analyzing the potential revenue from a hypothetical RUC on four urban corridors within Texas. Common issues for RUCs are discussed, which include privacy, interstate coordination, and program administration. A range of possible options for RUCs are discussed, followed by an analysis of four corridors in the following counties: Bexar, Collin, Harris, and Lubbock. Data from TTI’s Urban Mobility Report on VMT were utilized along with vehicle registration data from TTI’s TRENDS model to estimate an average miles per gallon for each county based on the local fleet. Three scenarios were then developed including a revenue recovery scenario, a variable pricing scenario, and a carbon tax scenario. This report concludes with a discussion of the scenario results. Specific challenges and barriers for each scenario are discussed along with a discussion of the data sources and privacy trade-offs.