Daily News Briefs, July 10, 2023

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Commentary: VMT Fee System Could Be More Than A Transportation Funding Fix

The New York Times publishes a guest essay that portrays road pricing — vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, in particular — as America’s best hope for addressing climate change effects and the social, infrastructure and funding challenges facing its transportation system. Author Clifford Winston, a Brookings Institution senior fellow, argues that VMT systems are now technologically feasible and can be configured to change driving behavior that contributes to congestion, air pollution and roadway damage by heavy trucks. “Establishing a V.M.T. fee,” he writes, “would achieve the government’s goals for much less” than costly federal programs that “do nothing to curtail Americans’ love of driving or to reduce the costs associated with it.” Winston also takes note of USDOT’s lack of progress on implementation of a VMT pilot program authorized and funded by the IIJA, seeing little hope for change until after the 2024 election.

Congestion Pricing Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives Road Use Charging (RUC-MBUF-VMT) US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Infrastructure Funding And Financing Initiatives

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Mileage-Based User Fee Alliance Annual Conference Scheduled For October

The Mileage-Based User Fee Alliance (MBUFA) announced that its 2023 national conference, “Running on Empty: Road Charging Fills the Tank,” will take at the National Housing Center in Washington, DC, from October 23-24. The event will “feature federal policy leaders, industry experts, and leaders of the MBUF pilots and programs around the nation” in discussions of key issues for the US and other nations. Registration will open on August 1. The conference’s primary sponsors in 2023 are The Reason Foundation and the Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council.

Mileage-Based User Fee Alliance Road Use Charging (RUC-MBUF-VMT) Transportation and Infrastructure Research & Development

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Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Scholarships Aid Future Civil Engineering Professionals

AASHTO Journal reports, Kentucky transportation officials recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of the state’s Civil Engineering Scholarship program, which each year provides tens of thousands of dollars in tuition aid, job placement assistance, work experience and other benefits to as many as 84 resident students studying civil engineering at in-state colleges and universities. In a recent news release, Governor Andy Beshear (D) noted that more than 2,000 students have received program scholarships collectively worth $19.4 million since 1948, adding, “It’s been incredible to see the talented leaders who have come through this program and continue to make a difference in Kentucky, from road and bridge projects to disaster response and more.”

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Kentucky Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Transportation And Infrastructure Workforce Issues

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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