The primary objective of this study is to analyze highway-related costs attributable to different highway users as a basis for evaluating the equity and efficiency of current Federal highway user charges. The principal basis for evaluating the equity of the Federal highway user fee structure in this study, as in previous Federal HCASs, is to compare the responsibility of different vehicle classes for highway program costs paid from the Federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to the user fees paid into the HTF by the different vehicle classes. The closer that user fee payments match the cost responsibility for a particular vehicle class, the more equitable the user fee structure is for that class. This study also extends the analysis of highway cost responsibility to examine environmental, social, and other costs associated with the use of the highway system that are not reflected in highway improvement budgets. Marginal costs of highway use by different vehicle classes are compared with user fees they pay to evaluate the efficiency of the highway user fee structure. Estimates of air pollution and global climate change costs could not be developed in time to be included in this report. Estimates of highway-related air pollution costs will be submitted in an addendum to this report. The base period for this study is 1993 to 1995, which covers the most up-to-date information available on Federal highway expenditure patterns since the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) was enacted. The analysis year is 2000. A 3-year average of highway costs and revenues is used to represent the base period (1993 to 1995) to reduce the effects of annual variations in costs and revenues. (Author/publisher)
Abstract