A new report funded by the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition helps with considerations for a national pilot program Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee system as an alternative to the gas tax for infrastructure funding.

On July 24, the Eno Center for Transportation (ENO) released its report titled Driving Change: Advice for the National VMT-Fee Pilot, funded by the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition, to help prepare for the transition to an electric vehicle fleet.

This AGC-backed pilot program was included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and requires the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) to establish a national pilot program to “test the design, acceptance, implementation, and financial sustainability” of a Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) fee system as an alternative to the gas tax for infrastructure funding. As part of that initiative, the U.S. DOT is also required to create an advisory board which will make recommendations for standing up this national VMT pilot program. This ENO study is meant to inform and assist the U.S. DOT with establishing that pilot program.

The ENO study’s recommendations focus on keeping the program implementation to its simplest possible form, testing scalability, and assessing the impact of administrative costs. Additionally, the report highlights the need for a standardized system which takes international border crossings into considerations as well as vehicle classifications, weight definitions, and models for data formatting, sharing, and protection. To read the full report, click here.

U.S. DOT is well overdue on their 90-day deadline to create the advisory board, which the study highlights and recommends that U.S. DOT assemble the board as soon as possible. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), also concerned about the missed deadline, requested that Secretary Buttigieg provide an update to the progress and plans of the U.S. DOT in establishing the advisory board and pilot program no later than August 24, 2023.

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