Federal Policies and Programs Related to Tolling and Other Direct User Fee Initiatives

In this section, the Commission makes recommendations regarding tolling and other direct user fee funding approaches that can play a role in narrowing the funding gap faced by state and local governments in addressing surface transportation needs, which like the federal funding gap is growing. (See Exhibit 8-7.) The Commission believes that targeted tolling at the state and local level is an important strategy, particularly in urban congested areas, at least until a more comprehensive pricing system can be established that state and local governments could rely on for a share of system funding-should they choose to do so.

11-1.  Congress should allow tolling on the National Interstate System under the following circumstances: in combination with the provision of significant new capacity2 or on existing Interstate capacity in large metropolitan areas (i.e., over 1 million population) for congestion relief.

The first provision would essentially broaden the SAFETEA-LU section 1604(c) Interstate System Construction Toll Pilot Program (which currently allows up to three new Interstate facilities to be tolled for the purpose of funding construction of new highways) to full program status. The second provision would build on the SAFETEA-LU section 1604(b) Express Lanes Demonstration Program (which currently allows up to 15 demonstration projects involving the collection of tolls on eligible Interstate facilities for the purpose of managing congestion or reducing emissions in nonattainment or maintenance areas) to full program status, as well as expand its potential applications.

In both cases, the permitted uses of toll revenues should conform to the uniform standard described in Recommendation II-3. In addition, to ensure full adherence to the commerce clause of the Constitution, potential adverse impacts on interstate commerce and local travel should be thoroughly analyzed and appropriately mitigated as a requirement of implementation.

II-2.  Congress should continue the Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program (authorized in TEA-21 section 1216(b)), which allows tolling of existing Interstate System capacity for the purpose of reconstruction and rehabilitation and should expand it from three slots to five.

The Commission supports the general construct of the pilot program and suggests a few modifications. First, applicants must explicitly address the potential impacts of tolling on interstate commerce and travel on the national system in their currently required implementation plan and U.S. DOT should take this element into careful consideration. Second, the program should require robust reporting from program participants, including a retrospective analysis of the tolling experience and resulting impacts on interstate commerce and travel. Third, the permitted uses of toll revenues should conform to the uniform standard described in Recommendation II-3.

II-3.  Congress should uniformly require that residual revenues (beyond those necessary for operations and maintenance, debt service, and return on investment) generated by a toll facility under federal jurisdiction (i.e., for federal-aid projects, federal system roadways, or facilities built with federal credit assistance) be used for qualified surface transportation purposes within the state or other relevant jurisdiction. These qualified purposes should include capital investments currently eligible for federal assistance under Title 23 or Chapter 53 of Title 49 of the United States Code.

The avenue for management of this provision would be the Section 129 Toll Agreement (currently required under Section 129(a)(3) when federal highway funds are involved). The Commission recommends applying the Section 129 Toll Agreement provisions uniformly to all toll facilities where there is federal jurisdiction. All toll revenues received from operation of the toll facility must be used for the costs necessary for the proper operation and maintenance of the toll facility (i.e., the facility must be maintained at the appropriate Interstate or other standard), for debt service and to provide a reasonable return on any public or private investment as agreed to in a toll agreement. If the state (or other public authority having jurisdiction) certifies that the toll facility is being properly maintained, then any remaining (residual) toll revenues may be used for qualified surface transportation purposes within the state or other relevant jurisdiction. These qualified purposes should include highway and transit capital investments currently eligible for federal assistance under Title 23 or 49, United States Code.

II-4.  Congress should require that all public and private toll facility operators publish price data on each tolled facility in interoperable electronic format so that all users, including truckers and other out-of-state users, can know how much they will pay.

Ideally, private application developers would aggregate these data into easy-to-use formats that travelers could obtain on computers, mobile devices, and in-vehicle traveler navigation devices.

II-5.  U.S. DOT should complete tolling standardization rulemaking, which will govern the use of electronic tolling and interoperable systems.

Section 1604(b)(6) of SAFETEA-LU directed U.S. DOT to issue a final rule specifying requirements and standards designed to maximize the interoperability of electronic toll collection (ETC) systems. U.S. DOT issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on this subject on September 20, 2007 (72 FR 53736), and a final rule is expected soon. Currently, four major types of ETC technology are used: the E-ZPass system in the northeastern and midwestern states, the SunPass system in Florida, the Fastrak system in California, and Tolltags in Texas. Clearly, making greater use of direct user charges will benefit from adoption of a single nationwide standard for electronic toll collection. The Commission therefore urges U.S. DOT to complete its rulemaking on this as quickly as possible.3 The forthcoming U.S. DOT rule should promote interoperability without forcing toll road operators to adopt existing technology that is about to become obsolete, especially as changes are anticipated in the fundamental ETC technology. IEEE (originally the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) needs to complete its standard-setting for the new 5.9 GHz band as quickly as possible so that this new standard can be adopted uniformly.

* Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program.