The authors use a multi-criteria evaluation technique called PROMETHEE to evaluate different transportation funding options for state implementation; these include increasing the fuel tax, increasing the sales tax, increased use of tolling or replacing the fuel tax with a tax on vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This evaluation utilizes the authors’ previous research, which uses an expert panel of officials who participate in making state transportation funding policy decisions, to establish criteria and weights; in contrast, the panels in other studies have relied more on business leaders. The authors consider variations of the above mentioned alternatives and score them based on their relative performance on the criteria with the help of previous literature. Due to their stronger performance with respect to ease of implementation, equity and public acceptance, the authors recommend increasing the fuel tax steadily and tolling all new freeway capacity; while gradually moving towards congestion based tolls on all toll roads as the set of future funding options requiring further investigation. Contrary to previous research, this study shows that the replacement of the fuel tax with a tax on VMT is not preferred because one of its proposed main advantages, its ability to promote efficient transportation use, is given very low importance by the expert panel members in selecting a funding strategy. The authors also confirm that three criteria, the user-pay equity, the ease of explaining to the public and the acceptability to the public, which may be assessed through surveys or directly quantified, perform effectively as screening criteria.
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