Oregon has been at the forefront of developing funding mechanisms for highway and bridge construction and maintenance since 1919, when it became the first state to introduce a dedicated state tax based on gasoline consumption. In 1933, it became the first state to adopt a weight-mile tax for heavy vehicles. And next July, Oregon will offer 5,000 state residents the option of using several mileage-based, road user charge (RUC) systems as an alternative to paying the state gas tax—another first. The Beaver State has been developing and testing the new RUC systems since 2001.
A comprehensive, highly readable review of Oregon’s experiments with the RUC approach—from first pilot programs through the present—has been published by the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Transportation Research and Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. The policy brief, “Oregon’s Voluntary Road User Charge Program,” is a “must-read” for those who want to get up to speed on this potential game-changing funding approach.
To read the policy brief, click here: Oregon’s Voluntary Road User Charge Program 2014 Policy Brief.