Pennsylvania is a member of The Eastern Transportation Coalition. The Coalition, formerly known as the I-95 Corridor Coalition, is a partnership of 17 states and the District of Columbia that is advancing the national conversation around mileage-based user fees through real-world pilot programs, education, and outreach.
Pennsylvania was recently featured in a study.
The unique characteristics of the Eastern U.S. — such as significant cross-state travel, numerous toll facilities, and several major truck corridors — make it a natural testing ground for the potential challenges of implementing a MBUF system nationally.
The Coalition is neutral regarding MBUF as the ultimate solution for transportation funding but wants to ensure the voices of citizens along the Eastern U.S. are part of the national discussion.
Studying Mileage-Based User Fees in Pennsylvania
To better understand how to move beyond the gas tax, we started working with The Eastern Transportation Coalition (TETC), a coalition of 17 states and D.C. studying how a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) could affect Eastern U.S. states.
In 2018, we kicked off our first study with TETC. Since then, we have completed three phases of MBUF work with TETC, including pilots with more than 500 Pennsylvanians, public opinion surveys of about 1,000 Pennsylvanians, and a geographic equity analysis of Pennsylvania households. These studies have been important to understanding how an MBUF could affect drivers in our state.
2020-2021: Expanding the Exploration of MBUF
Key Takeaways:
- Depending on how rates are set, rural drivers in Pennsylvania may fare better with MBUF than they do with the gas tax.
- Real-world pilots reduce privacy concerns for Pennsylvania drivers.
Passenger Vehicle Pilot
October 2020 — January 2021
70 PA Participants
383 transportation stakeholders in total from Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania
226,267 miles traveled by PA participants
1.45 million miles traveled in total by participants from all states
National Truck Pilot
20 PA Trucks
221 trucks travelling the 48 contiguous states
991,957 miles traveled by PA participants
11 million miles traveled in total by participants from all states
2019: Adding the Public's Voice
Key Takeaways:
- Pilots help close knowledge gaps about transportation funding by providing real-world experiences about how the transportation system is funded.
- In general, Pennsylvanians like a pay for what you use model, but they have misperceptions about MBUF's fairness toward some vehicles.
2018-2019: Bringing the Trucking Industry to the Table
Key Takeaways:
- Bringing the trucking industry's voice to the conversation is essential.
- Trucks cannot simply be treated as big cars in an MBUF system.
Passenger Vehicle Pilot
July 2019 — October 2019
428 PA Participants
889 members of the general public in total from Delaware and Pennsylvania
1.4 million miles traveled by PA participants
3 million miles traveled in total by participants from all states
Multi-State Truck Pilot
October 2018 — March 2019
55 trucks travelling across 27 states
177,873 miles traveled in PA
1.42 million miles traveled in total by participants from all states
2018: Starting the Conversation
Key Takeaways:
- GPS-enabled MBUF technologies can accurately record miles driven and the amount of fuel used, and can also differentiate this information by state.
- Administrative and compliance costs can be incorporated into a per-mile MBUF rate.
Passenger Vehicle Pilot
May 2018 — July 2018
39 PA Participants
155 transportation stakeholders in total from Delaware and Pennsylvania
Approximately 130,000 miles traveled in PA
459,448 miles traveled in total by participants from both states