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Transportation Funding

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Federal, state, and local governments are finding it increasingly difficult to raise sufficient revenue to build and maintain roads and transit systems. RAND researchers evaluate new and existing transportation funding mechanisms and policies including fuel taxes, mileage-based user fees, congestion pricing, and more.

Commentary

Pay as You Go

Jul 22, 2015

Using vehicle miles traveled as a means of distributing the cost of maintaining America's roads and bridges may not be the only answer. But it represents the kind of innovative thinking that is necessary when this sector of the American transportation infrastructure is desperately in need of a fix.
Commentary

Rebuilding America's Infrastructure in the Trump Era

Nov 14, 2016

Policymakers generally agree on the need to rebuild America's infrastructure. But the country is far behind in this area. Why? Transportation projects take time and money. And it's hard to predict how a project will affect its surroundings.

Explore Transportation Funding

Commentary

Regulating Infrastructures in the Tropics

Regulation helps address the demands of investors who are seeking assurances that their investments are safe, while also reassuring democratically elected governments. Regulatory reform could help Brazil attract more private investment in its infrastructure.

May 26, 2017
Report

Report

Regulation of logistics infrastructure in Brazil

This report deals with the regulation of logistics infrastructures in Brazil, focusing in particular on the federal level. Brazil, one of the key emerging economies in the world, has a particular need for developing logistics infrastructures.

May 8, 2017
Commentary

Why Selling Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Is a Bad Idea

Some lawmakers are proposing a sell-off of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to finance highway and bridge work. This is a shortsighted strategy.

Sep 15, 2015
Blog

The 2015 Summer Reading List for Congress

With Capitol Hill slowing for August recess, this list of must-read research and commentaries will help ensure that policymakers are ready to dive right back in this fall.

Aug 5, 2015
Commentary

How to Improve Oregon's Mileage-Fee Experiment

Oregon is rolling out the nation's first large-scale pilot to examine switching to a mileage fee instead of the gas tax. The trial is a welcome next step toward understanding how mileage fees can be deployed.

Jul 7, 2015
Project

Examining Feasibility of Time-of-Day Tolls to Reduce Congestion

To reduce traffic along a heavily congested Texas toll road, researchers used stated preference surveys and discrete choice models to understand how motorists will respond to alternative time-of-day pricing policies.

Jun 19, 2015
Blog

Summer Reading for Congress

No matter how policymakers spend their break—meeting with home-state constituents, traveling abroad with congressional delegations, or spending time with family—this summer reading list contains policy ideas that can help them hit the ground running when they return.

Jul 31, 2014
Multimedia

A New Way to Pay for Transportation: Exploring a Shift from Fuel Taxes to Mileage-Based User Fees

In this June 2014 Congressional Briefing, Liisa Ecola discusses growing shortfalls in federal and state funding for surface transportation programs, and the potential of mileage fees (rather than fuel taxes) to reduce those shortfalls while also reducing traffic congestion, harmful emissions, and excessive road wear.

Jun 26, 2014
Commentary

Make HOT Lanes Permanent

The first HOT lanes in L.A. have improved traffic flow and travel time reliability, are fair to users of the facilities, have improved transit service and have generated revenue needed to fund those improvements from voluntary toll payments.

Apr 23, 2014
Commentary

As U.S. Energy Booms, Don't Forget About Roadway Infrastructure

Natural gas production is growing and many states and communities are reaping the economic benefits. One of the costs, however, will be damage to roads. One hydraulic fracturing operation requires about 600 to 1,100 one-way, heavy truck trips to bring equipment, materials, and sometimes water to and from a well site.

Mar 11, 2014
Report

Mileage-Fee Design Strategies to Reduce System Cost and Increase Public Acceptance

As traditional transportation revenue sources primarily based on gas tax continue to dwindle or stay even at best, the notion of transitioning to a vehicle-miles-traveled fee or mileage-based user fee has come under substantial consideration. Some design strategies can reduce system costs and increase public acceptance of mileage-based fees.

Nov 14, 2013
Blog

What Mobility Might Look Like in the U.S. in 2030

Mobility — the ability to travel from one location to another — may look very different in the United States in the year 2030. Three key drivers differentiate possible scenarios: the price of oil, the development of environmental regulations, and the amount of highway revenues and expenditures.

Oct 28, 2013
Report

Scenarios Examine Future of Mobility in the United States

What might one expect for the future of mobility in the U.S. in 2030? A six-step scenario development process resulted in two thought-provoking scenarios that address this question, and three key drivers differentiate the scenarios: the price of oil, the development of environmental regulation, and the amount of highway revenues and expenditures.

Oct 24, 2013
Commentary

Paying for Infrastructure, a Taxing Issue

If the “user pays” idea is worth saving, the United States needs a different calculation, writes Liisa Ecola. Some states are looking at mileage fees. With mileage fees, you pay based on the number of miles you drive, rather than the number of gallons of gas used.

May 16, 2013
Commentary

Consider Taxing Miles Traveled

Mileage-fee rates could be structured to reduce congestion, harmful emissions and excessive road wear, and the enabling technology could support a range of value-added services offering greater convenience and safety for motorists, writes Keith Crane.

Apr 19, 2013
Commentary

Does U.S. Gas Tax Still Make Sense?

It's time to consider changing the country's transportation funding scheme from one based on gallons purchased to one based on vehicle miles actually traveled, writes Liisa Ecola.

Mar 8, 2013
Journal Article

Emerging Strategies in Mileage-Based User Fees to Reduce Costs and Increase Acceptance

This paper presents a review of promising mileage-fee design and implementation strategies intended to reduce system costs and foster greater public acceptance.

Jan 1, 2013
Tool

Advantages of Mileage-Based User Fees for Transportation Funding

An illustrated guide provides state and local decisionmakers with a high-level synopsis of mileage fee issues: policy motivations, technical options, key challenges, and emerging strategies to address those challenges.

Dec 28, 2012

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