Frequently asked questions
Michigan Road Usage Charge Pilot Project

A road usage charge, or RUC, is a new way to pay for roads. It is a per-mile charge that drivers pay, replacing fuel taxes.

Most gasoline and diesel-fueled vehicle owners pay fuel taxes that are built into the cost of gas at the pump. As more cars driving Michigan roads are increasingly fuel efficient, gas tax revenues to fund roads, bridges and infrastructure are not keeping pace with inflation.

Michigan roads are funded by a mix of federal, state and local funds. Around half of state funding comes from the state gas tax, and half from vehicle registration fees.

There are a few challenges if we continue to rely on the gas tax. Vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient, and an increasing number of vehicles on the road use no gas at all (like electric vehicles). While cleaner, more efficient vehicles are good for the environment, transportation agencies may not receive enough money from the state gas tax to maintain Michigan's roads in the future! People with older, less efficient vehicles pay more than those who drive newer, more fuel-efficient ones. Many people feel there should be a fairer way to pay based on how much someone uses the roads.

Michigan Public Act 22 of 2025 also authorized the creation of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on RUC. The TAC will guide the development and evaluation of an RUC study and pilot program to assess the potential, positive and negative findings for mileage-based revenue collection for this state’s roads and highways as an alternative to the fuel tax system.

It is important that MDOT conducts the pilot correctly rather than quickly. Given the timeline established by the 2025 legislation, MDOT needs through the end of 2027 to design, implement and evaluate the pilot and prepare a comprehensive report for the Legislature that documents key findings and lessons learned to inform future decisions.

MDOT is exploring a variety of options to report mileage in the pilot, including both location-based and non-location-based options. Pilot participants will be able to choose from low-tech odometer readings to higher-tech smartphone-based apps.

MDOT will follow all applicable state laws and policies to protect participant data in the pilot. The pilot will develop a specific privacy policy and share it with all participants in advance of their participation for their review and agreement.

The pilot will use a simulated RUC rate and be equivalent to today’s gas tax. The final rate is to be determined.

No real money will be exchanged during the pilot; all charges and credits will be simulated.

The average fuel efficiency of passenger vehicles on Michigan roads is 23 miles per gallon (MPG). Michiganders like to travel and, on average, drive about 11,000 miles per year per vehicle.

At our current (2026) gas tax rate of 52.4 cents per gallon, a Michigan driver with a 23 MPG vehicle driving 11,000 miles annually would pay about $250 in fuel tax per year. Under an RUC-equivalent rate of 2.3 cents per mile, they would also pay about $250 per year.

Of course, more fuel-efficient vehicles would pay a little more in RUC, since they pay less in fuel tax, and less fuel-efficient vehicles would pay a little less since under an RUC everyone pays for the miles they drive on Michigan roads, not how much fuel they consume.

No, this is just a study and pilot to understand how people feel about changing to an RUC system and how MDOT would make sure any such system is fair, reliable and easy to manage. All changes would be required to go through a rigorous process and involve our elected officials, additional public input and new legislation.

This pilot is intended to understand whether an RUC system may be right for our state. No changes are planned at this time and participation in the pilot will be voluntary.

The process to implement an RUC system will require our lawmakers to pass new legislation. This process has several steps to make sure Michigan residents can have their say.

Many other states are exploring RUCs and some have already implemented programs. Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Hawaii and Vermont have enacted RUC programs.

In addition to Michigan, many other states have studied or are currently studying RUCs, including California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Washington.

No. An RUC is intended to be an alternative to the state gas tax, not an additional fee on top of it. During the pilot, participants will continue paying state and federal fuel taxes as they normally do, but the pilot will calculate what they would have paid under a mileage-based system. The pilot is for testing and learning only. If Michigan were to consider an RUC in the future, policymakers would determine how to avoid having drivers pay both a state fuel tax and a mileage-based fee for the same road use.

No. Cameras would never be used to record mileage. The pilot is designed to evaluate mileage reporting options while protecting participant privacy. Drivers will have multiple reporting options to choose from, including options that do not record location. The pilot will only collect the information needed to measure miles traveled and test how an RUC could work in Michigan.