As states across the country debate about how to fund transportation in the future, the Eastern Transportation Coalition’s most recent work takes on the biggest concerns related to a mileage based user fee (MBUF) approach: privacy, rural drivers, and the trucking industry…

This work continued to prove that privacy concerns can be alleviated through data protection measures and clear communication with users. During the 2020-2021 passenger vehicle pilot, participants ranking privacy as a high concern dropped from 52% to 7%.

It also demonstrated that rural drivers could benefit from a shift to an MBUF system, refuting a common misconception that the MBUF model would harm rural drivers because they tend to drive more than their urban counterparts. In fact, a shift to MBUF is estimated to change household expenses, regardless of geography, by about $1.50 a month.