This report represents the study of impacts of road usage charges in rural, urban, and mixed counties in Oregon. The prospect of an Oregon road usage charge has faced questions regarding the policy’s relative impacts on urban and rural residents. The central concern of stakeholders is the notion that rural residents must drive longer distances and will therefore be unfairly burdened by charge per mile driven. Related concerns include the relative ability of rural residents to adapt to technological aspects and compliance requirements of a road usage charge system.
This report includes a summary analysis of all the data collected and conclusions regarding road usage charging policy impacts on urban versus rural areas in Oregon. Despite perceptions that a road usage charge is unfair to rural residents, the data collected and analyzed for this study reveal that rural residents, on average, will not be affected in any significant way by a road usage charge—financially, behaviorally, or technologically.
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