What happened: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report studying how state pilot programs could guide an expanded national policy on user-fee alternatives to the federal gas tax.
Why it matters: The 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provided grants for states to study alternative revenue mechanisms to maintain Highway Trust Fund solvency. Most of these pilot programs studied a mileage fee structure, which tracks distance driven to ensure transportation funding keeps pace as the increasing number of fuel-efficient and electric vehicles reduce revenues.
What’s next: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorizes the U.S. Department of Transportation to create a national vehicle-miles-traveled pilot program. The GAO report encourages the department to assess the state-run pilots and draw critical lessons for what a national system could look like.