U.S. study for road-funding alternatives looks to Triangle

Raleigh, N.C. — The federal government will begin next month sponsoring a two-year study across the United States, including the Triangle, on how a road usage fee would work as an alternative to the federal gas tax.

Hundreds of drivers in six communities across the nation will be paid to test for 10 months a GPS-based computers in their vehicles that capture the miles driven and gallons of gasoline used.

"There's no change in anything we're asking you to do," said Kevin Leibel, president of Innovation Management, the Chapel-Hill based company conducting the study. "And at the end of the period, you've earned almost $900."

The federal gas tax, currently a little more than 18 cents a gallon, is the primary source of funding for road construction on a national level. The need for alternative funding is a result of more people using fuel-efficient cars and drives buying less gasoline because of higher prices at the gas pumps.

Under a road usage fee, motorists would pay based on the number of miles they drive instead of how much gas they pump, which isn't always used for driving on roads.

"It's really getting rid of a tax and putting into place a much more equitable system of road-use consumption and fairness," Leibel said.

Usage is also different among motorists, he says, pointing to more fuel-efficient vehicles, which get better mileage.

"Somebody who drives a Prius and drives one mile is actually doing exactly the same erosion and damage to the road as someone who drives a Ford Mustang and drives one mile," Leibel said.

Eliminating the gas tax is years away, Leibel says, but he says his company is trying to understand how a road usage fee fits into people's lifestyles, whether they like it and whether they accept the idea.

"We're looking for people who are young. We're looking for people who are old. We're looking for people at full-time jobs, part-time jobs. Students – you name it," Leibel said. "We're looking for all different types of drivers to participate in this study."

The state is also interested in the study and how the technology works.

A road usage fee is one option being discussed by a statewide committee assigned to recommend long-term transportation solutions to the General Assembly, says the committee's chairman, Brad Wilson.

The committee, which is expected to report on all available options by the end of the year, acknowledges a gas tax probably isn't a long-term option for generating revenue for road construction.

"(But there are) lots of questions that have to be asked and answered about the technology, about the enforcement, about what's fair," Wilson said.