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The road mileage user-fee: Level, intensity, and predictors of public support

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  • Duncan, Denvil
  • Nadella, Venkata
  • Giroux, Stacey
  • Bowers, Ashley
  • Graham, John D.

Abstract

The road mileage user-fee is viewed as a promising alternative to the fuel tax, which in recent years has proven to be an inadequate means of financing road infrastructure. Public opposition is often thought to be a barrier to the political feasibility of the road mileage user-fee. We use a nationally representative public opinion survey to investigate the level and intensity of support for replacing the fuel tax with a general mileage user-fee and with three specific modes of administration of the fee. Our results confirm that public opposition to the adoption of mileage user-fees to address the growing revenue inadequacy of fuel taxes is high, with the number of opponents exceeding the number of supporters by a ratio of 4-1. Furthermore, public support is somewhat sensitive to respondents' belief in the user-pays principle and perceptions of the characteristics of the mode of administration. Additionally, relative to supporters, those who oppose the mileage user-fee are more likely to state that they are willing to take political action against the adoption of mileage user-fees.

Suggested Citation

  • Duncan, Denvil & Nadella, Venkata & Giroux, Stacey & Bowers, Ashley & Graham, John D., 2017. "The road mileage user-fee: Level, intensity, and predictors of public support," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 70-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:53:y:2017:i:c:p:70-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.09.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joseph Kile, 2011. "Testimony on the Highway Trust Fund and Paying for Highways," Reports 41455, Congressional Budget Office.
    2. Denvil Duncan & John Graham & Venkata Nadella & Ashley Bowers & Stacey Giroux, 2014. "Demand for Benefit Taxation: Evidence From Public Opinion on Road Financing," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 120-142, December.
    3. Jakobsson, C. & Fujii, S. & Gärling, T., 2000. "Determinants of private car users' acceptance of road pricing," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 153-158, April.
    4. Satoshi Fujii & Tommy Gärling & Cecilia Jakobsson & Rong-Chang Jou, 2004. "A cross-country study of fairness and infringement on freedom as determinants of car owners' acceptance of road pricing," Transportation, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 285-295, August.
    5. Kallbekken, Steffen & Garcia, Jorge H. & Korneliussen, Kristine, 2013. "Determinants of public support for transport taxes," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 67-78.
    6. Harrington, Winston & Krupnick, Alan J. & Alberini, Anna, 2001. "Overcoming public aversion to congestion pricing," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 87-105, February.
    7. Denvil Duncan & Venkata Nadella & Ashley Bowers & Stacey Giroux & John D. Graham, 2014. "Bumpy Designs: Impact of Privacy and Technology Costs on Support for Road Mileage User Fees," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 67(3), pages 505-530, September.
    8. S. Jaensirisak & M. Wardman & A. D. May, 2005. "Explaining Variations in Public Acceptability of Road Pricing Schemes," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 39(2), pages 127-154, May.
    9. Dieplinger, Maria & Fürst, Elmar, 2014. "The acceptability of road pricing: Evidence from two studies in Vienna and four other European cities," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 10-18.
    10. Alex Anas & Robin Lindsey, 2011. "Reducing Urban Road Transportation Externalities: Road Pricing in Theory and in Practice," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 66-88, Winter.
    11. Joseph Kile, 2011. "Testimony on the Highway Trust Fund and Paying for Highways," Reports 41455, Congressional Budget Office.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wangsness, Paal Brevik, 2018. "How to road price in a world with electric vehicles and government budget constraints," Working Paper Series 10-2017, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, School of Economics and Business.
    2. Duncan, Denvil & Li, Danyang & Graham, John D., 2020. "Tax rate design and support for mileage user-fees," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 17-26.
    3. Jean-Philippe Meloche, 2019. "Towards a New Era in Road Pricing? Lessons from the Experience of First Movers," CIRANO Working Papers 2019s-35, CIRANO.
    4. Suman Sen & Michael B. Charles & Michael A. Kortt, 2019. "Australian Passenger Vehicle Classification and Distance‐Based Charging: Current Practices and the Way Forward," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 38(1), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Linda M. Fogg & Lawrence C. Hamilton & Erin S. Bell, 2020. "Views of the Highway: Infrastructure Reality, Perceptions, and Politics," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(4), pages 21582440209, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    H2; H4; H54; R4; Road mileage user-fee; Gasoline tax; Highway financing; Public opinion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics

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