Road Usage Charges in Washington State?

Abstract

After years of studies that pointed toward road usage charging as a possible approach to the future of road funding, Washington State embarked on a methodical process first to assess the feasibility of road usage charging and then to evaluate the business case. The process involved educating a broad-based steering committee on the experience of road usage charging worldwide and potential policy objectives and then evaluating a wide range of illustrative high-level operational concepts, from simple to complex. The resultant finding was that road usage charging could be feasible. The next phase involved creating a smaller set of potential concepts, articulating policy objectives, and evaluating the business case from the standpoint of dollars and cents and the ability to achieve the objectives. It was found that there was value to a methodical approach. Moving too quickly toward pilot programs or implementation could create a backlash resulting from a lack of understanding of the problem to be solved and its potential solutions. There was also value in a transparent and open process that remained low key and did not try a large-scale public involvement process until a broad-based steering committee could work through the difficult issues. Although there were no perfect solutions, it will be easier to make informed choices about the future of transportation finance with a set of goals, guiding principles, and an objective business case.