Drivers sought for pay-per-mile pilot program

Ed Friedrich
Kitsap

OLYMPIA — A pay-per-mile fee has been studied to death. Now it's time to put it to the test.

The Washington State Transportation Commission and a 25-person steering committee for five years have been assessing a road use charge as a possible replacement for the declining gas tax. Soon they'll ask the public to test drive the potential new method for funding roads and ferries. 

They're seeking 2,000 drivers to participate in the 12-month Washington Road Usage Charge Project that will help them and the Legislature better understand whether paying by the mile is a viable option for future road funding. Recruitment of volunteer drivers will begin in September and continue through late 2017.

"It's simply a scientific test to see how it works from a technical, mechanical and operations aspect, but more importantly it's an opportunity for residents across the state to experience it and give feedback to the state on what worked and what didn't work and what they liked and didn't like," said Reema Griffith, Transportation Commission executive director.

As more efficient vehicles consume less fuel or — in the case of the growing number of electric cars — none at all, gas tax revenues decline. Forecasts say the average mile per gallon in Washington will dip from 20.5 now to 35 in 2035, resulting in 45 percent less revenue per mile. The state gas tax rate now is 49.9 cents per gallon, second highest in the nation behind Pennsylvania. A road use charge could provide a more sustainable source. 

"We know we're going to hit the tipping point at some point," said Josh Brown, a former Kitsap County commissioner who heads the Puget Sound Regional Council, which conducted a similar study. "For 100 years the gas tax has been a very good funding mechanism for a user fee for vehicle travel. In a couple decades when we're not filling up our cars anymore and half or more of us are driving electric vehicles, how do we support our federal and state investments?" 

It could also be more fair. Today, for the same miles driven, drivers pay widely different amounts to use the road, depending on their fuel consumption. That inequity is expected to keep growing, according to the Transportation Commission.

"Now we're at a point where we're done studying it in a room and it's time to put it to the test and let the public see it and feel it and give feedback," Griffith said. 

The road use charge being considered would be a replacement to the gas tax, not in addition to it. The change would be gradual.

"We're not going to take 7 million cars and move them off the gas tax (at once)," Griffith said. "It is unnecessary and would be crazy." 

Volunteers will choose from four options to track mileage, from no-tech to hi-tech. They comprise a mileage permit where a driver chooses how many miles to purchase; reading mileage off the odometer; an automated mileage meter installed in the car; and an app for a driver's smart phone. Drivers would simulate pay-by-mile but continue to pay at the pump.

Drivers will be expected to commit about 10 minutes per month reporting their mileage and providing feedback, beginning in early 2018.

"We want to know if people will accept this and if there are any fatal flaws in it," Griffith said. 

Visit waroadusagecharge.org to sign up or for more information.