In 2001, the Oregon State Legislature authorized the creation of the Road User Fee Task Force to examine various revenue raising alternatives for replacing Oregon's gas tax as the primary source of revenues for repairing, maintaining, and building Oregon's roads.

The purchasing power of the state's gas tax has steadily eroded over the years for several reasons:

1. the gas tax has not kept pace with inflation;
2. voters have opposed increases in the gas tax; and
3. the fuel efficiency of new vehicles, especially hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles, continues to increase, resulting in less gas tax paid.

RUFTF, administered by the Oregon Department of Transportation, was charged by the Legislature to review all possibilities for replacing the gas tax. The task force reviewed 28 different options.

After 16 months of meetings, research, and discussions, RUFTF focused on a mileage-based charge.

RUFTF agreed that a replacement to the gas tax should be a user-based fee -- like the road user fee tested in the Pilot Program -- because it is a fair, simple, and affordable way to generate revenue for road repair, maintenance, and construction, as it charges a fee based on actual miles traveled in Oregon.

ODOT tested the road user fee in a Pilot Program in Portland, which began in spring 2006 and lasted for one year.

Because the Pilot was a test, many policy options remain for decision makers, such as charging a lower rate-per-mile for vehicles that achieve a certain fuel efficiency, for motorists that avoid rush hour zones, or for those participating in other environmentally-friendly situations.