Public Perception of Mileage-Based User Fees (2016) / Chapter Skim
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30 CHAPTER FIVE LEARNING FROM MEDIA COVERAGE Because news media coverage of MBUFs is a primary factor in shaping public opinion, this chapter presents an analysis of how MBUFs were presented in the news media over the five years from 2010 through 2014. A total of 359 media stories from national newspaper articles, online business journals, online industry blogs, magazines, and technology blogs were collected and then evaluated using a content analysis process.
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31 The final coding scheme used for analysis is presented in Appendix D Codes were grouped into six main categories: 1.
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32 regions represented the origin of 16%, 16%, 12%, and 23% of media stories, respectively. As illustrated in Table 10, there is some variation in representation by regions from year to year.
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33 TYPES OF PEOPLE QUOTED IN MEDIA STORIES The next step in the analysis process looked at the types of people whose opinions were presented in the media stories. Each story was analyzed to identify whether three types of people were quoted: professionals in the field of transportation, politicians, and members of the general public.
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34 at least one elected official. There was some variation in how often politicians were cited across the years but no clear trend.
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35 Of the media stories that discussed privacy, 19% explicitly mentioned it as a general concern but gave little or no detail on why MBUFs are a privacy concern. For example, a story in US Official News stated, A few states are experimenting with some kind of odometer fee -- also known as a VMT or vehicle-milestraveled tax -- that charges drivers by the miles they travel.
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36 Regarding equity issues related to out-of-state trips, the Providence Journal stated, [O] ne way to collect a vehicle-miles-traveled-tax, or VMT, is to check vehicle odometers, perhaps when their owners renew their registrations.
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37 on social benefits (e.g., reducing traffic congestion, reducing automobile use, and increasing transportation funding revenues)
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38 is hidden in the price of fuel. In a mileage-based funding system, such as Oregon's, drivers would receive monthly statements showing their driving activity and road expenses.
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39 the impact of improving fuel efficiency on gas tax revenues; this percentage fluctuated by year from a low of 34% in 2010 to a high of 49% in 2014. The majority of stories discussing fuel efficiency came from national sources (33%)
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40 Political Will Thirteen percent of media stories included statements about whether elected officials did or did not have the political will to support an MBUF. Most commonly, the stories discussed a lack of political will, especially at the federal level.
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41 The majority of media stories were geared toward a general audience (83%) rather than industry professionals (17%)
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