Street Utility Fee

In the search for new revenue options to address the deficit caused by a stagnant gas tax, a number of cities have chosen to implement local transportation utility fees (TUFs). Transportation utility fees have many names: street user fee, road maintenance fee, etc. Regardless of the terminology, the basic idea is the same: a fee is assessed on the utility bills of water/sewer customers, and the revenue is designated for city transportation infrastructure projects.

There are two common methods used in calculating a transportation utility fee: a flat fee, and the more complicated trip generation methodology. Cities using trip generation establish different rates for different categories of use. Most cities use the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) manual as a model for their trip generation methodology.