Where the rubber meets the road : reforming California's roadway system

007246121995PDFResearch PaperRoad pricingState highwaysHighway maintenanceFinancingUser chargesFuel taxesRestructuringHighway user taxationCaliforniaRoadway costsRoadway finance processCaliforniaReason Public Policy InstitutePozdena, Randall J.NTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATIONNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-ECONOMICS AND FINANCENTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-FundingNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-PLANNING AND POLICYNTL-LAWS AND REGULATIONS-State Laws and RegulationsThe current system of roadway pricing and finance in California primarily employs fees applied to retail motor fuel sales. Consequently, most users of roadways pay a price for road use that is in proportion to fuel consumed, rather than in a manner that corresponds to their individual imposition of costs on the particular roadways actually used. The lack or correspondence between actual roadway costs and prices paid for using roads can be linked to both the poor operating characteristics of California roads and the deterioration in the financial competence of the road finance system. This paper discusses a reform of California's roadway finance process that seeks to avoid the degenerative consequences of the current, non-cost-based system. The paper first reviews briefly the key issues raised by the current system of pricing and finance, the broad trends in roadway use and finance, and the current structure of roadway finance. The paper then identifies opportunities for cost-effective reform of the current structure and discusses how a more robust road pricing scheme might be implemented. The paper concludes with discussion of the public administrative issues in implementing such a reform. Endnotes