The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) and the I-95 Corridor Coalition have begun a three-month pilot study into the feasibility of replacing the current fuel tax with a mileage-based user fee (MBUF).
The will run from May 1 to July 31 and has more than 120 participants. It is the first MBUF pilot program conducted on the East Coast, an area with unique challenges, according to Patricia Hendren, executive director of the I-95 Corridor Coalition. These include managing out-of-state mileage.
“The fundamental question we are beginning to address is, as fuel tax revenue declines in the future due to improving efficiency and the growing use of alternative fuel vehicles, how will we pay to maintain and build infrastructure?” Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan stated. “This study is just a first step of many and will help us answer questions about mileage-based user fees and whether this is an alternative worth pursuing further.”
The second phase of the study is scheduled for 2019. It will include a multistate truck pilot in partnership with a private company to assess the synergy between current reporting requirements on MBUF and commercial vehicles.
The $3.1 million study is paid for by a Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives program grant.