National Academies Press: OpenBook

State Highway Cost Allocation Studies (2008)

Chapter: Appendix A - State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey

« Previous: Glossary
Page 49
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. State Highway Cost Allocation Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14178.
×
Page 49
Page 50
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. State Highway Cost Allocation Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14178.
×
Page 50
Page 51
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. State Highway Cost Allocation Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14178.
×
Page 51
Page 52
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. State Highway Cost Allocation Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14178.
×
Page 52
Page 53
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. State Highway Cost Allocation Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14178.
×
Page 53
Page 54
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A - State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2008. State Highway Cost Allocation Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14178.
×
Page 54

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

49 APPENDIX A State Highway Cost Allocation Study Survey This questionnaire and the compilation of the survey results are an important part of a synthesis of Highway Cost Allocation Study (HCAS) experiences in recent years. Under the direction of Gail Staba of the Transportation Research Board, this synthesis is being performed by Patrick Balducci of Battelle and assisted by Joseph Stowers of Sydec, Inc. Their contact information is provided at the end of this questionnaire. They welcome your questions or contacts at any time. The purpose of state-level HCASs is to determine the fair share that each class of road user should pay for the construction, maintenance, operation, improvement, and related costs of highways, roads, and streets in the state. Through a comparison of user fees paid and cost responsibilities, these studies estimate current equity and may provide recommended adjustments to existing user fees and tax rates to bring about a closer match between payments and cost responsibilities for each vehicle class. Over 30 state governments have at some time conducted these studies to evaluate their system of state road-user charges, fees, and taxes. Studies vary in depth and scope. To date, results have been mixed. This synthesis will compare and contrast what has been completed by various states and seek to provide guidance for future studies based on this experience. Both federal and state highway agencies utilize HCASs to evaluate their revenue systems and to maintain a cost-based user system because • It promotes equity: The users of a highway system that utilizes cost-based finance pay for what they use. • It encourages cost-effective use of the road system: Users respond to the costs they face, and may choose vehicle types, intensity, patterns of use, and other factors in response to these assigned costs. • It fosters financial sustainability and/or self-sufficiency: By linking cost to user charges, a cost-based system generates revenues needed to develop and maintain the required road system. States have adapted a wide variety of techniques and conventions to estimate highway use and the payment of user fees by vehicle classes. All states and user groups would benefit from a review and comparison of the highway cost allocation methods. This review is particularly important at this time because states are considering new or enhanced revenue sources to meet needs. New transportation technologies and revenue initiatives add opportunities and uncertainty. Please note that in Part I of the questionnaire we ask for contact information for possible follow-up questions, and we ask for each state’s consideration of using multiple contacts if that is appropriate. Also note that we are asking for responses to a few questions from states that have never conducted an HCAS. Part I Responsibility for Highway Cost Allocation Studies (HCASs) and Related Work (a) What unit of your agency is responsible for HCASs and related work? (b) What person in that unit is currently responsible and/or is the best contact person? Telephone: E-mail address: (c) Are other units of your agency or other agencies responsible for parts of such studies or for closely related work? Please consider obtaining response(s) to one or more questions from other important contacts.

50 Organization: :noitamrofni tcatnoC Other: :noitamrofni tcatnoC (d) Person(s) responding to this questionnaire:__________ Contact information: ___________________ Contact information: ___________ Part II Highway Cost Allocation Studies Completed or Planned (e) Has your state performed an HCAS since 1982? Yes Please continue with question (f) No Please skim the questions that follow and respond if appropriate, then answer questions (s) and (x) in Part III (f) Dates of HCASs performed since 1982 (date of a major benchmark Federal HCAS report) in your state: (Please list years of most recent HCAS-related reports completed.) (g) Were any of these reports status reports, updates rather than complete new studies, procedural or methodology reports, etc.? (h) Did your state complete any major benchmark HCASs or related work prior to 1982? What was the special importance of that (those) effort(s)? (i) In your state’s most recent HCAS, what levels of government were separately analyzed in terms of source of funds versus cost responsibility? State funds and state highways only State and federal funds combined only State and federal funds analyzed separately State, federal, and local funds analyzed separately Other: (j) Were any of your state’s previous HCASs different in terms of the levels of government separately analyzed? Yes (please specify below.) No

51 Year of Study State funds and state highways only State and federal funds combined only State and federal funds analyzed separately State, federal, and local funds analyzed separately Other: (k) Have any of your HCASs included analyses of unmet needs, the long-term costs of deferred maintenance, etc.? If so, please provide a brief description of what was done and contact information: (l) Have any of your HCASs involved consideration of costs to users versus costs to non-users? If so, please provide a brief note on what was done and any available citation: (m) Have any of your HCASs involved consideration of non-user taxes and fees to support highway transportation? If so, please provide a brief note on what was done and any available citation: (n) Please provide links to any reports noted within this section if available, or send a copy of each report to the name and return address listed at the end of this questionnaire. (o) Please identify any consultants that were responsible for each of these studies or portions of the studies: Name: Year: Responsibilities: Contact Information: Name: Year: Responsibilities: Contact Information: (p) Please list any special surveys or major data collection efforts done as part of HCASs: (q) Please estimate the approximate cost and/or level of staff effort required for these studies.

52 Part III Questions Related to Highway Cost Allocation Studies (r) Were the HCASs done as an initiative of the state’s DOT? Yes No As an initiative of other agencies? Yes No By mandate or request of the legislature or other officials? Yes No (s) Why were the studies done? (Check as many boxes as appropriate.) To determine whether the state’s taxes and fees were equitable To adjust tax and fee rates to be more equitable To respond to questions raised by legislature governor others Other: If none were done, why not? Lack of technical expertise or experience Too costly and time-consuming No issues have arisen calling for such studies Other: (t) What has been the impact of the HCASs? (Check as many boxes as appropriate and add comments to clarify as desired.) Helpful in developing recommendations for changes in user fees or tax rates: Effective in getting support for improvements in the equity of the tax structure in the legislature and/or other officials: Helpful in planning other related work: No impact: Other: (u) Are you aware of any recent efforts to extend HCASs to include analysis of externalities such as those listed below? If so, please check appropriate boxes and provide relevant information on type of effort and contacts. Congestion: Air pollution: Noise: Health and damage (injuries, fatalities, loss of productivity and property damage): Other:

53 (v) Are you aware of any recent work being done that might be helpful in extending HCASs to deal properly with emerging new approaches? If so, please provide relevant information on type of effort and contacts. Highway finance: Public-private partnerships: Toll systems: High-occupancy toll lane systems: Other: (w) Optional question; all responses will be kept strictly confidential with no attribution to specific states. Would you be willing to make a brief assessment of the quality of your state’s most recent HCASs, perhaps pointing out strengths and shortcomings, if any? Please rate the work from (1) Excellent, to (2) Good, to (3) Average, to (4) Needs Improvement or Has Some Weaknesses, to (5) Not Successful, Poor, or Caused More Problems Than It Solved. Provide strengths and shortcoming or any elaboration on your responses in the space following each topic name. 1 2 3 4 5 Technical methods and data: Accuracy of the methods: Credibility of work among the stakeholders: Coverage of vehicle classes, etc.: Coverage of all relevant funding sources, fees, and taxes: Handling of important special revenue factors, such as tax- or fee-exempt or partially-exempt vehicles: Other: (x) What would be most helpful to you in terms of planning and conducting future HCASs? (Please check as many boxes as appropriate.) Improved guidelines: Copies of previous HCAS reports from other states: Software: Conference(s), networking, and/or federal workshops: Other: Please add any advice you may have for states considering, or about to start, an HCAS:

54 Part IV Thank you for completing this questionnaire! Please return it and any reports [see Part II (N) above] by March 9 to: Patrick Balducci Senior Economist Battelle Memorial Institute 620 SW 5th Avenue Portland, Oregon 97204 Phone: (503) 238-7483 Fax: (503) 238-7501 Cell: (503) 679-7316 Balduccip@Battelle.org Other Important Contact Information: Gail R. Staba, AICP Senior Program Officer Airport Cooperative Research Program National Cooperative Highway Research Program Transportation Research Board The National Academies 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20001 Phone: (202) 334-2116 Fax: (202) 334-2081 Cell: (415) 305-5380 gstaba@nas.edu www.trb.org Joseph Stowers President, Sydec, Inc. 1612 Washington Plaza N. Reston, Virginia 20190 Phone: (703) 742-0707 Fax: (703) 742-0790 Home phone: (703) 437-3870 Sydec@Patriot.net

Next: Appendix B - Summary of Survey Results »
State Highway Cost Allocation Studies Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 378: State Highway Cost Allocation Studies examines the history and evolution of highway cost allocation study practice and explores the current state of the practice.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!