Road Charge Projects
Public/Private Roads Project
The Public/Private Road Charge Project pilot has concluded!
The Public/Private Roads Project tested the ability of current GPS technology to differentiate when a car is driving on a public versus a private road, while protecting the user’s privacy. Currently, when a driver is on a private road, they are still paying the gas tax even though no public money goes to the maintenance of that road. While there is a process to request refunds for the gas tax paid while driving on private roads, many Californians either don’t know or have the time to pursue the process. Could a road charge system create a simpler way to distinguish between public and private roads for travelers?
While exploring the technical aspects of this pilot, this project aims to engage rural and tribal communities in a conversation about their communities’ priorities in a potential road charge system. These are unique communities that may have unique impacts, and understanding the issues, concerns, and opportunities the new concept presents for them is important to the state’s effort to create a potential road charge system that works for all Californians.
Caltrans partnered with The Toll Roads to test the functionality of a tolling agency serving as a third-party commercial account manager in a road charge system. This effort explored the crossover between tolling and road charge and the opportunities to create an easy taxpayer experience and keep administrative costs down.
The pilot started April 2023 and concluded in September 2023.