3.  TRANSPORTATION FUNDING AT A CROSSROADS: EXISTING SOURCES AND NEW REVENUE OPTIONS

In light of the enormous nationwide transportation investment challenges, the Commission sought out and methodically evaluated new and innovative strategies to address the nation's future surface transportation needs.

Congress specifically charged the Commission with identifying and evaluating new and expanded mechanisms for increasing federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) revenues. Thus, in its search for new approaches, the Commission emphasized options that could be viable at a national level or, in some cases, where federal policy and programs could help states and local governments raise new revenues. This chapter describes the Commission's methodology for evaluating alternative revenue mechanisms and documents the results of the evaluation.