It's no secret North Carolina is looking for a new way to fund its roadways, and 15 years from now, you could be paying in ways you've never imagined.

Links:

 Road User's Study

 DOT Current Regional Road Projects

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is facing a $300 million shortfall this year which is expected to triple over the next three years. Revenue sources like the gas tax and the highway usage tax are directly tied to the economy, which means the DOT is taking a hit.

The search is on for new funding sources. A population boom, less gasoline consumption, hybrid cars are all factors putting the brakes on the "old way" of funding North Carolina's roads explains David Joyner, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.

"There will be a radical change in the way we currently fund roads," Joyner said.

Joyner said when he thinks 15 years into the future, there's one funding idea out there that stands out the most.

"You buy a new car it's there it's a chip that doesn't cost hardly anything and like a GPS system it allows cars to be identified when they enter a certain roadway or when they leave a certain roadway and the time of day that they travel," Joyner said.

The concept, Joyner explained, is that you could be charged based upon how far you travel, at what time of day and what kind of road you drive on. And, just like you get an electric or cable bill he said, you could get a transportation bill in the mail every month. He sees it eventually replacing the gas tax.

"The question, I think everybody is concerned about, is the privacy issues," Joyner said.

Joyner said a system like this would have to be overwhelmingly accepted by the public. But in the meantime, a scaled down version of the concept simply measuring mileage, is being tested right here in the Triangle. Paul Hanley, the Director of Transportation Policy Research at the Public Policy Center at the University of Iowa, is heading up the study.

"Testing the feasibility of switching from the fuel tax, pay at the pump, to having a mileage charge," Hanley said.

It's a five-year, $12 million study Hanley said Congress asked them to conduct. It's taking place in six locations across the country including the Triangle. Starting this week 200 Triangle participants will have "onboard computers" or "microchips" installed in their cars. Those devices Handley said, will record the number of miles traveled.

"As a study team we do have a concern that this system isn't Big Brother watching where we go, when we go and how we go, so that's the design of it, is only looking at mileage," Hanley said.

North Carolina's Transportation Secretary, Lyndo Tippett, said exactly what the mileage fee would be hasn't been studied and would have to be approved by the legislature if the concept became a reality, but said the concept is not far fetched.

"These are concepts at the moment looking into the future and we fully expect this type system to be implemented," Tippett said. "The easy way to implement that which could be done quickly is simply when you renew your automobile license tag you would report the mileage which is driven each year."

But there are other, more short term options to increase revenue he said.

"User fees, user fees being automobile registration fees might be adjusted, driver's license fees might be adjusted," Tippett said.

Tippet said toll roads, which are in the works, will help in the future but only address about five percent of transportation needs. David Joyner, who is overseeing the toll road project, also said he sees tolls playing a limited role in future funding.

"Both construction costs and maintenance come off the DOT's budget, that's the double benefit of tolling. The downside of tolling is that it only works in limited circumstances where there are high traffic volumes or congestion," Joyner said.

Losses in revenue now, according to Tippett, are causing the DOT to defer projects, make cutbacks and stretch the lifespan of current roadways.

"We're having to make tough choices in what indeed are tough times," Tippett said.