A Framework and Analytical Approach to Evaluate Alternative Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Fee Systems
A Framework and Analytical Approach to Evaluate Alternative Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Fee Systems

Author: Elizabeth V. Ebacher

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Since the fuel tax is a dwindling source of revenue, states need to find alternative funding sources. A vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee has received serious consideration from a number of states and the federal government. What is missing from the VMT fee consideration is a framework for developing VMT fee systems and an analytical approach with which to study how well a proposed system conforms to the policies promulgated in the framework. This research strives to fill that void. The framework developed presents five areas of importance in VMT fee systems: 1. Revenue sufficiency; 2. Revenue stability; 3. Environmental Justice; 4. Low implementation cost; and 5. Security and privacy preservation. The analytical approach consists of two methods: 1. Use of NPV in order to evaluate the cost/benefit position of a proposed VMT fee system with respect to monetary and non-monetary but monetizable aspects; and 2. Use of an Index to evaluate all other aspects. To demonstrate the application of the framework and analytical approach, four VMT system designs were formulated, analyzed, and then compared to each other and to the fuel tax. The four VMT fee system designs are: 1. Alternative A where the total annual VMT is determined at the state inspection and charged for those miles; 2. Alternative B where the out-of-state VMT is deducted from the total annual VMT as determined at the annual state inspection and the fee charged for in-state VMT only; 3. Alternative C where a fee matrix is applied to GPS reported trip data so that fees may vary based on time and locale; and 4. Alternative D where there is a strategic implementation of Alternatives A, B, and C in that order and with two years separating the implementations. If added revenue is the main goal, then Alternative A is the best choice by being the lowest cost. If added revenue and the provision of a better strategy for alleviating such conditions as congestion, noise or air pollution or charging for higher quality roadways, then Alternatives C or D is the best fit. Alternative B performs best as a stepping-stone in Alternative D. All alternatives have better revenue sufficiency and stability than the fuel tax. The fuel tax exceeds all alternatives with respect to security and privacy preservation since no data, personal or otherwise, is recorded. Since security and privacy preservation are considered the weakest aspects of most VMT fee collection systems, added attention must be applied to incorporating design elements that cover aspects where breaches are possible such as in any data transmission, any computational and database processing, and billing/payment functions. The next step beyond this work is to study the construction of the fee matrix and exercise its use either in simulation or with actual data as collected by a state's department of transportation.

Evaluating Alternative Transportation Financing Approaches
Evaluating Alternative Transportation Financing Approaches

Author: Michael Plotnikov

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

As states continue to consider taking on more responsibility in transportation, a major issue State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) face relates to financing future transportation investments. At present, many state transportation policymakers and State DOT administrators are considering alternative financing approaches to generate future revenue sources for transportation investments. This dissertation focuses on several user fee based approaches currently being considered by state transportation policymakers and administrators in the U.S. Examples of such approaches include: increasing the current fuel tax and indexing the fuel tax to inflation; implementing an odometer based vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee approach through vehicle inspection programs in selected states; establishing a global positioning system (GPS) based VMT fee approach for heavy vehicles where privacy and implementation costs are less of a concern; and increasing existing tolls and charging tolls on existing roads that do not have tolls, preferably with open-road tolling (ORT) and all-electronic toll (AET) payment systems. Meanwhile, major questions of interest relate to the potential impacts or consequences of such financing approaches. Central to this dissertation is the development of a conceptual framework and analytical methods to aid state transportation policymakers and administrators in the planning and formulation of alternative financing approaches suitable for consideration in their state. The application of the framework and methods is illustrated in a case study. This case study includes an evaluation of alternative toll scenarios on a section of Interstate 93 in the Boston Metropolitan area where at present tolls are not charged. A major conclusion of the case study is that placing tolls along interstate highways where tolls are not currently collected has the potential to provide a significant source of revenue for State DOTs but that other impacts including route diversion, privacy, and equity need to be considered and addressed in the decision-making process. It is expected that the results of the dissertation will be of interest to state transportation policy makers as well as State DOT administrators currently involved in the development of a comprehensive transportation finance policy.

Estimation and Prediction of Statewide Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by Highway Category and Vehicle Classification
Estimation and Prediction of Statewide Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by Highway Category and Vehicle Classification

Author: Trevor Klatko

Publisher:

Published: 2016-12-31

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781622604197

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is a critical measure of highway system performance used extensively in highway transportation management not only for reporting to oversight agencies such as the FHWA but also as an input for financial analysis, resource allocation, and impact assessments. In the current era as highway revenue from fuel taxes continues to fall and direct user charging such as VMT fees become increasingly attractive, consistent and reliable VMT estimates have become critical for evaluating highway funding options. In the current practice at most highway agencies including the Indiana DOT, there exists several alternative methods for VMT estimation that typically yield a spectrum of estimates that are inconsistent and for certain methods, even inaccurate. This study was commissioned by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to develop a benchmark method for VMT estimation and to provide calibration factors for adjusting the VMT estimates derived from the other VMT estimation methods. The benchmark method used in this study was a segment-level framework that decomposes the entire road inventory into links and for each link, determining the product of the traffic volume and the inventory length. For the state highway system, the entire population was used; a comprehensive database was developed which facilitates extensive aggregations of VMT by geographical scope, route, functional class, and vehicle class. For the local roads, a sample of counties of different spatial locations and degrees of urbanization were used, and cluster analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), and spatial interpolation techniques were used to expand the VMT estimates from the local road samples to the population of all counties in the state. The results of this study indicate that there is significant variation, with respect to the benchmark method, of the VMT estimates of the other estimation methods. An implementation platform was developed in this study to produce outcomes that address the VMT data needs of the intended end users and stakeholders; this can be expanded to include new roads in future. It was determined that the current statewide VMT (2013) is 78 billion vehicle-miles, which is expected to grow to 95 billion vehicle miles in 2035.

Aggregating Vehicle Miles Traveled Within Predefined Geographic Zones by Cellular Assignment
Aggregating Vehicle Miles Traveled Within Predefined Geographic Zones by Cellular Assignment

Author: Brian Davis

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Currently, most of the costs associated with operating and maintaining the roadway infrastructure are paid for by revenue collected from the motor fuel use tax. As fuel efficiency and the use of alternative fuel vehicles increases, alternatives to this funding method must be considered. One such alternative is to assess mileage based user fees (MBUF) based on the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) aggregated within the predetermined geographic areas, or travel zones, in which the VMT is generated. Most of the systems capable of this use Global Positioning Systems (GPS). However, GPS has issues with public perception, commonly associated with unwanted monitoring or tracking and is thus considered an invasion of privacy. The method proposed here utilizes cellular assignment, which is capable of determining a vehicle?s current travel zone, but is incapable of determining a vehicle?s precise location, thus better preserving user privacy. This is accomplished with a k-nearest neighbors (KNN) machine learning algorithm focused on the boundary of such travel zones. The work described here focuses on the design and evaluation of algorithms and methods that when combined, would enable such a system. The primary experiment performed evaluates the accuracy of the algorithm at sample boundaries in and around the commercial business district of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The results show that with the training data available, the algorithm can correctly detect when a vehicle crosses a boundary to within ?2 city blocks, or roughly ?200 meters, and is thus capable of assigning the VMT to the appropriate zone. The findings imply that a cellular-based VMT system may successfully aggregate VMT by predetermined geographic travel zones without infringing on the drivers? privacy.

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Tax
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Tax

Author: Misty A. Boos

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

As traditional fuel taxes fail to meet revenue needs, transportation professionals explore the VMT tax as an alternative funding mechanism. Fuel taxes have been the primary means of collecting revenue to finance construction, operation and maintenance of US highways since the 1920s. With increasing use of hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles, aging transportation infrastructure, rising construction costs and inflation, transportation budgets are strained. The fuel tax alone is expected to be inadequate to meet public highway finance requirements within the next 20 years. The National Chamber Foundation, a public policy think tank affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, estimates that between 2006-2015 Highway Trust Fund revenues will fall $23 billion short of the amount needed to maintain the present U.S. highway system and $48 billion short of the revenue needed to improve the existing system. (Innovation Briefs, March/April 2006) From 1970 to 2003, the gasoline tax revenue in Oregon had declined by half in 'cents per vehicle mile traveled' (after adjusting for inflation). "The gasoline tax is failing the purpose for which it was originally intended - funding the operation and maintenance of Oregon's road system." (Whitty, 2007). Many other states now recognize that for political and economic reasons fuel tax revenues will not keep pace with improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency, which is identified as the leading cause of declining fuel tax revenues in the future. One alternative widely proposed to the fuel tax is a "Vehicle Miles Traveled" (VMT) tax. Under this system, drivers pay a fee based on miles traveled rather than a tax on the amount of fuel used. The VMT tax concept can serve broader policy aims as well, by enabling policy makers to set variable fees in different network areas to reduce congestion during peak travel times, a critical and worsening issue in some metropolitan areas. Potential challenges to implementation of a VMT tax were addressed recently by the Oregon Department of Transportation in a pilot study of a VMT-type tax. Oregon DOT encountered issues of the efficiency and reliability of the technology required, the cost associated with fitting vehicle-monitoring equipment, public acceptance of the new system, increased burden on the private sector to collect fees, the cost of the new fee collection systems and the associated security and privacy issues involved in tracking miles traveled. The Oregon Pilot Study ultimately found, however, that the VMT tax is "workable and practical, a genuine alternative to the gasoline tax." (Whitty, 2007).

Alternative Multimodal Passenger Transportation Systems
Alternative Multimodal Passenger Transportation Systems

Author: Frederick F. Frye

Publisher: Highway Research Board

Published: 1973

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The objectives of this project were to review currently used methods of evaluating the economics of alternative transportation systems, develop a framework within which to evaluate the economics of alternative multimodal metropolitan transportation systems, and develop quantification methods for such factors as accessibility and capacity that relate them to all modes. The research was to include sensitivity analysis to identify those aspects of a modal investment policy that have major impacts on the output variables and therefore should be included in the results presented to transportation decision makers.