Congress should mandate mileage-based user fees for heavy trucks, new report concludes

With the gradual shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles, it is only a matter of time before lawmakers will have to replace gas taxes with a system of mileage-based user fees to pay for road maintenance—and the most sensible way to start would be with heavy trucks, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).

The new report is authored by ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson, former chair of the congressionally chartered National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission. In the report, Atkinson calls on Congress to mandate a mileage-based user fee system for heavy trucks in the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization.

“The shift to EVs may be gradual, but it is already clear we need to shift to a new way of paying for roads,” said Atkinson. “The technology for a system of mileage-based user fees is already available—and it can be implemented in a way that completely protects drivers’ privacy.”

Congress has previously supported Mileage-Based User Fee (MBUF) pilot programs, yet progress has been slow. ITIF’s report points to the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization as an opportunity to break out of the inertia.

The virtue of mandating an MBUF system for heavy trucks before other vehicles is that it would be more straightforward as a technical matter. Heavy-duty trucks are already outfitted with GPS systems, so the marginal cost of upgrading to the technology necessary to measure mileage and handle payments would be comparatively minor.

Beyond that, ITIF’s report points to two main reasons lawmakers should mandate an MBUF system for heavy trucks:

1. It would pave the way for a broader MBUF system for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and other vehicles, because once a system is up and running for heavy trucks, people would see it works without privacy concerns, which would build public support.

2. It would enable a national weight-distance road tax to be established to ensure that heavy trucks pay the full costs of the road damage they cause, something they do not appear to do now.

“We need to start moving toward mileage-based user fees now,” said Atkinson. “Implementing an MBUF system for heavy trucking would wind down market-distorting subsidies for the trucking industry, increase revenue for the highway trust fund, and address damage to roads and bridges.”