Proposal 9: Funding Transportation Infrastructure with User Fees

The Highway Trust Fund has been a major source of surface transportation funding for many years, but it is thought that the fund will have a negative balance in 2015. Other sources of funding are needed to take its place. Some other methods of financing our roads and public transit systems include the use of road pricing schemes and other avenues to raise revenue; reducing the costs of highway operations and road construction; and improving decision making regarding transportation investments. This paper discusses and expands upon these three options.