Oregon’s Road User Fee Task Force (RUFTF) has recommended implementing road usage charging for all new vehicles rated at 20 miles per gallon or better beginning in 2025. RUFTF’s recommendation was informed by ODOT’s projection that, by 2020, fuels tax revenue will begin to decline due to increased vehicle fuel efficiency, and fuels tax will continue that decline into the future.

One of the policy concerns about road usage charging is the perception that it could increase costs for rural households, because rural drivers presumably drive more. However, research on the driving habits of Oregonians by Oregon State University shows that rural drivers wouldn’t be negatively impacted by a road usage charge.

Contributed by: Mike McArthur | AOC Executive Director