Oregon's OReGO charged drivers per mile, not per gallon of gas

Oregon's fuel tax revenue kept shrinking as cars became more efficient and hybrids and electric vehicles paid almost nothing for the roads they used. After two pilots, the legislature authorized a statewide per-mile charge, and OReGO launched on July 1, 2015 — the nation's first major mileage-based user fee.

Volunteers pay 1.5 cents per mile; a device in the car reports mileage, and drivers receive a credit for the 30-cent-per-gallon gas tax they paid at the pump, so they are not double-charged. Enrollment is capped at 5,000 vehicles across fuel-efficiency bands.

Three private vendors run billing; two use GPS tracking, and one offers a basic non-tracking device that only reports miles and fuel use — a design choice that gave drivers a privacy-preserving option.

Charge for road use by miles, not fuel, with privacy options

Per-mile pricing matches payment to road use as fuel efficiency erodes the gallon base.

The gas-tax credit avoids double taxation and made the pilot politically acceptable.

Private vendors with a non-GPS option addressed the privacy concern head-on.

A volunteer pilot let the state test the mechanism before mandating it.

When the old tax base erodes, price the actual service: metering miles keeps funding fair and future-proof, and offering a no-GPS option answers the privacy objection before it kills the policy.

Every state watched the pilot; Oregon later expanded road usage charging studies, and per-mile pricing became the reference design for replacing fuel taxes as electric vehicles spread.