The report, "Technology Enabling Near-Term Nationwide Implementation of Distance-Based Road User Fees," addresses a view -- one bolstered by three national commissions -- that the United States should adopt a mileage-based approach to transportation funding. The report does so, however, from essentially a technological standpoint.

"The purpose of this document is not to discuss policy issues," its authors assert, "but to focus on a description of technology that can both meet a variety of policy objectives and be deployed quickly."

The system described in the report relies on an electronic processor and memory that is connected to a vehicle's data bank. This connector has been installed in all U.S. passenger cars built since 1996. It is mounted in the dash under the steering column and mainly used for engine diagnostics at repair garages and emissions control monitoring data.

The connector can be used to calculate the distance a vehicle has traveled. A cellphone modem, which is also used to establish the vehicle's general location, transmits through text messaging the distance data to a billing office.

In addition, the report describes the means for providing payment and receiving credit for any motor-fuel taxes previously paid by the driver as part of the price at the pump. The report also touches upon issues pertaining to compliance, enforcement, transparency, and privacy. As the authors acknowledge, "Privacy and public acceptance concerns are the top obstacles to transitioning to a new transportation finance system."

The system proposed in the report would not require roadside data collection because it uses the existing cellphone network. This approach does not depend on a Global Positioning System receiver or longitude/latitude data. It could, however, serve as an initial platform to which GPS technology could later be added for such purposes as identifying distances driven by heavy trucks along certain roads.

This report, which was financed by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technologies Administration University Transportation Centers program, is available at tinyurl.com/VMTtechreport.