Road charge technical advisory committee narrows pilot design; California Trucking Association to join

The Road Charge Technical Advisory Committee reported progress on the design of the California Road Charge Pilot Program. The TAC approved a broad recruitment framework that will include individuals, households, businesses and at least one government agency, and decided to test all eight vehicle classes and both privately and commercially registered vehicles in the pilot.

The California Trucking Association told staff it will make members available to participate in the pilot, the TAC said. The committee also agreed to test limited exemptions in the pilot for out-of-state miles and private roads and to test approaches to privacy protections.

Staff described outreach plans, including five planned focus groups in Oakland, Redding, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego and a public TAC meeting scheduled for June 26 at Caltrans headquarters. The pilot's design team will make decisions on participant numbers and statewide distribution at upcoming TAC meetings and select evaluation criteria, including methods to evaluate social equity implications.

Why it matters: A road-charge pilot is part of California's effort to test alternatives to traditional fuel excise taxes as vehicle fleets change. The participation of trucking industry stakeholders and testing of exemptions and privacy protections are critical design decisions that will affect pilot credibility and possible later policy proposals.

Ending: The TAC will continue to refine design parameters at its next scheduled meeting and will post meeting materials on the pilot website.