DALLAS – Increased gridlock on U.S. highways is driving a majority of motorists toward supporting toll roads and mileage fees as alternatives to the gasoline tax for funding transportation infrastructure, according to a new national survey.
The survey by infrastructure solutions firm HNTB Corp. found that 77% of Americans prefer new tolls and mileage-based fees rather than increases in state or federal gasoline taxes to pay for infrastructure needs over the next 10 years.
Less than a quarter of the respondents favored a higher gasoline tax to fund increased infrastructure spending, with 45% supporting tolls and 32% backing a vehicle-miles-traveled road fee system.
More than 70% of the motorists said they would pay a toll to fund critical infrastructure projects if other sources are insufficient, and 69% said they would pay a toll rather than use a free road if that would cut travel time.
Motorists are looking for sources that would fund the upkeep of existing roads while paying for needed expansions, said Kevin Hoeflich, HNTB's vice chairman of toll services.
"Americans are frustrated by the ever-growing congestion on our nation's roads and highways," he said. "They recognize the costs in terms of time, money, stress and environmental damage when they are stuck in traffic. People want real solutions."
"Interest for innovative approaches such as mileage-based user fees is clear, but the public struggles to understand how these fees work," said Hoeflich. "We have a real opportunity to help educate the public about how mileage-based user fees work and their potential benefits."
According to the survey, 19% of Americans would never support tolls on existing highways, but 43% believe it is appropriate to toll new interstate highway lanes if needed to reduce congestion.
More than 60 of American motorists have driven on a tolled facility in the past 12 months, HNTB said.
The HNTB survey included 1,022 respondents above the age of 18. It was conducted in late July.
A record increase in vehicle miles driven is lifting the financial outlook of the toll road sector, according to a report released earlier this week by Moody's Investors Service.
U.S. toll roads enjoyed traffic and operating revenue growth in fiscal 2015, thanks mostly to an improving economy and sustained low gas prices, Moody's said.
"In line with our positive outlook for the U.S. toll road sector, we expect this traffic and revenue growth to continue for the remainder of 2016," says Maria Matesanz, a Moody's senior vice president and chief author of the report.
Median traffic growth on toll roads of 4.9% in 2015 was up from 2.8% in fiscal 2014, Moody's said. Operating revenues rose 6% due to widespread toll rate increases and higher traffic volumes.
The Federal Highway Administration said last month that U.S. motorists drove a record 3.15 trillion miles in 2015, up from 3 trillion miles in 2007.
Moody's changed its outlook on toll roads to positive from stable late last year and predicted a 3% growth in traffic in 2016 on its rated entities.
Moody's rates 44 government-owned toll roads with a total of $114 billion of toll revenue debt.
Toll road traffic volume has been roughly in sync for the past few years with gasoline prices and the rate of growth in gross domestic project, Matesanz said in December.
"We expect that low gasoline prices and continued improvement in the U.S. economy will support the continued gains in traffic," she said.
The International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association said in March that traffic on toll facilities increased by 7% between 2014 and 2015, a record-breaking rate of growth that puts tolling use on pace to double in less than 10 years.
