Vermont transportation officials outline plan to start mileage-based fee for electric vehicles, aim for 2027 launch

Patrick Murphy, state policy director for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, told the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 20 that the administration will seek statutory language this legislative session to implement a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) for battery-electric vehicles with a targeted start date of Jan. 1, 2027.

The proposal would begin with fully electric passenger vehicles and use odometer readings collected through the annual vehicle safety inspection process to measure miles traveled. Murphy said that approach minimizes privacy concerns that have emerged in other states that use telematics or geofencing, and it lets Vermont leverage recent IT investments in the DMV. Murphy told the committee VTrans and DMV have invested roughly $50,000,000 in core IT systems that will be used to support rate collection and administration.

The administration plans to maximize federal support for…