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UDOT reports enrollment surge in voluntary road‑usage charge program; privacy and rate questions remain
Summary
UDOT told the committee its voluntary road‑usage charge (RUC) program has grown rapidly to about 10,000 enrollees, lowered operating expenses and is now revenue‑positive. Staff discussed per‑mile rates, a flat EV registration alternative, privacy protections and scenarios for removing the payment cap or expanding mandatory enrollment.
UDOT officials said Utah’s voluntary road‑usage charge program has expanded quickly this year, is covering program costs, and remains voluntary while the agency studies longer‑term options.
Lyle McMillan, UDOT director of strategic technologies, said the program’s per‑mile rate is currently 1.11¢ per mile and that the alternative for non‑participants is an annual flat EV registration fee (currently $143.25, rising to $180 by statute in 2026). McMillan said those figures are indexed to CPI and that the program is designed as a “user‑pay” alternative to the gas tax as vehicle fuel efficiency increases.
McMillan said Utah’s program, created by statute in 2020, originally used odometer readings and OBD2 devices. After a 2024 contract change, participants now report mileage either by odometer photo (app‑based) or by telematics (vehicle OEM data relayed by a vendor). He said telematics is now used by about half of participants and that the third‑party account manager provides anonymized mileage totals to UDOT rather than raw location data.
UDOT reported a major enrollment increase — about 71% since March 2024 — and said it expects to exceed 10,000 participants this month, adding roughly 400 enrollees per month. McMillan said a recent contract restructuring reduced program overhead and operating expenses by about two‑thirds compared with the prior year; the program has moved into positive net revenue for the state and UDOT expects per‑participant costs to fall further as enrollment grows.
Members asked policy questions about incentives and fairness. Representative Michael Peterson asked whether the current flat EV registration fee is on average higher or lower than what drivers pay in gas taxes; McMillan replied the flat fee is “significantly lower” than the average payment by a typical gas‑tax‑paying driver. McMillan and staff said a gas‑tax‑neutral per‑mile rate would be roughly 1.67¢ and a neutral flat registration fee would be about $232 a year.
Committee members also asked about privacy and data access. McMillan said that UDOT does not receive owners’ granular location data: “Our account manager has a third party that communicates with the OEM … and they send it to us with the vehicle identifier and total mileage,” but the vendor strips personally identifiable trip data before providing totals and is contractually required to destroy data after a limited retention period.
UDOT staff presented two modeled scenarios: removing the program’s payment cap would reduce the program’s attractiveness to low‑mileage participants and could cause enrollment attrition because the flat‑fee safety net would remain; a second scenario that added all EVs into a mandatory program produced roughly similar revenue to the current mix but requires statutory changes and raises implementation questions.
Why it matters: As more high‑efficiency and electric vehicles join the fleet, the per‑gallon gas tax becomes a weaker proxy for road use. Utah’s voluntary RUC program is intended to preserve a “user‑pay” connection while testing methods for per‑mile charging.
What’s next: UDOT will continue program operations, monitor enrollment and costs, and provide data and analysis to the Legislature. Staff said statutory privacy protections and vendor requirements will be confirmed in writing for members.
