[darrels joy]

Technology Enabling Near-Term Nationwide Implementation
Distance Based Road User Fees


16. Abstract (Limit: 250 words)
This report describes a system meant for near-term deployment that
directly determines the distance traveled by a
vehicle and uses this as a basis for charging a fee that reflects road
use. An in-vehicle device with access to the
vehicle data bus and power through a single standard connector available
on all passenger vehicles since 1996,
electronically calculates the distance and then securely communicates
relevant information to a "back office" for
processing and transferring accumulated fees from the user to the
appropriate government jurisdiction. Also
described are means for providing payment (and receiving credit for
motor fuel use taxes paid at the pump) while
also ensuring compliance, enforcement, transparency and privacy.
Communication is via text messaging, available
wherever cellular service is accessible. No new wireless infrastructure
is needed. The in-vehicle device
distinguishes distance traveled by state or by other regions of interest
e.g., rural vs. urban areas, using the same
cellular technology that is used for communications. Aggregating
distance based on rural vs. urban travel can
facilitate different pricing policies for these different road users.
Neither a GPS receiver nor longitude/latitude
position data is necessary. However, higher resolution position sensing
can be added to the core platform as needed
based on policy objectives, e.g., to consider alternate pricing for
specific road facilities.


PDF 76 pages:
http://www.its.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/pdfdownload.pl?id=11
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