The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is asking motorists across the Sooner State to participate in a pilot study designed to help ODOT look at ways to potentially replace the declining motor fuel tax.
“Across the country, fuel tax revenues are declining due to increased fuel efficiency and decreased purchasing power for construction supplies,” ODOT says. “To maintain funding for roads and bridge maintenance and construction, Oklahoma is one of many states proactively exploring a pay-per-mile program that could replace the current fuel tax model.
“This process was mandated by the state legislature passing HB 1712 in 2021.”
ODOT says anyone interesting in participating just has to sign up, continue driving as normal, report the miles driven, and share feedback.
The state is exploring a pay-per-mile revenue model, according to ODOT.
“As fuel tax become unsustainable, a pay-per-mile system would allow Oklahoma to use technology to log miles traveled and charge each vehicle accordingly,” the department said. “This would allow for the future collection of user fees by simply charging drivers based on the miles they drive versus the number of gallons of fuel they purchase.
“Although how a driver pays would be different, the charges are based on the same idea as the fuel tax – that a driver’s responsibility to pay tax for road maintenance will correspond to the miles they drive.”
ODOT says a pay-per-mile model would include electric vehicles.
“All vehicles cause wear and tear on Oklahoma roadways,” the department said. “Because all vehicles would pay the same fee per mile, electric vehicles, would pay their fair share.”
