MBUF/RUC Revenue Policy and Rate Setting

The Eastern Transportation Coalition

Mercator worked with the Coalition and member states to create a framework for key financial and policy considerations for agencies, legislatures, and other public policymakers evaluating mileage-based user fees (MBUF) or road usage charges (RUC) as a potential revenue-generating mechanism. Follow-on work for select states explored different variables on which MBUF rate structures might be based, such as vehicle characteristics, volume of use, owner characteristics, location of use, traffic conditions, or vehicle occupants based and their potential implications based on each state’s unique geographic and demographic characteristics. Illustrative scenarios were developed for each state to analyze whether a tiered-rate MBUF could be designed to address equity and demographic considerations, particularly for low-income and rural households. Work products included technical memoranda for staff and data visualizations that were presented at industry conferences.