Simply changing how we think of surface transportation could be the first step in a giant leap toward solving the nationwide funding crisis. Instead of seeing our roads, bridges and tunnels as a build-it-once-and-forget-it system, we should view them for what they really are: public utilities.

Although they are the very foundation of modern life, public utilities often are taken for granted. For example, when was the last time you thought about electricity? For many of us, it was when we flipped the switch and nothing happened. Transportation is very much the same. It’s woven into the tapestry of our daily lives. We depend on it every bit as much as electricity, water, sewer, natural gas, telephones and other essentials.

The United States’ mechanism for properly funding these modern necessities is public utility commissions. Independent boards across the country are responsible for ensuring utility companies have enough revenue to meet the public need, but not so much that they generate excessive income.

Public utilities champion the common good.
Why a public utility — and why now? Our highway system is funded largely by per gallon federal and state fuel taxes along with various vehicle user fees. The federal fuel tax hasn’t been increased since 1993, and it needs to be, but elected officials say now is not the time — that American voters don’t want their federal or state taxes raised. When have Americans ever been in favor of increasing taxes? Suspending tax hikes may be politically popular in the short term, but it is not in the interest of the common good.

We must fund vital transportation infrastructure as a matter of national survival. America’s demand for transportation continues to outpace our current funding structure’s ability to pay for it. Ignoring this issue will cost us far more than dollars — it will cost us precious lives needlessly lost, our status in the global marketplace and our rich quality of life.

The solution is to take the politics out of transportation funding. Rather than forcing our elected officials to take potentially career-ending actions, new independent commissions could regularly adjust fuel tax rates and other fees to ensure our transportation network’s long-term viability.

These independent transportation rate commissions could be formed at both the state and federal levels of government. And, to keep the process in check, Congress or the corresponding state legislature would have the power to overturn by a super majority vote any decision the commissions make.

Any state could implement such a strategy today. A public utility approach would ensure America has a safe, adequate surface transportation system while providing the oversight of an independent commission to prevent transportation agencies from collecting more revenue than they need to serve the public’s interest.

And, they offer the advantage of hindsight.

In the past, when politics interfered with the need to fund certain necessary activities, the solution has been to move to empowered independent commissions. We’ve seen it happen with the Postal Rate Commission and with the military’s Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

When it became politically treacherous to select which U.S.-based military facilities to reduce or shut down, Congress delegated the decision-making process to an independent commission. Doing the same for surface transportation would be a safe, responsible course of action. Existing utilities and commissions provide a ready-made model for us to follow and improve upon.

As a nation, we must ensure we are investing adequately in our transportation system, so it is a valuable asset, not a national liability. For governors and legislators who want to address the transportation crisis but agonize over tax issues, managing our transportation system as a public utility is a smart solution.

Pete Rahn is the national transportation practice leader of HNTB Corporation, an employee-owned infrastructure firm, serving federal, state, municipal, military and private clients.

HNTB expert contact information:

Pete Rahn
Leader National Transportation Practice
HNTB Corporation
(816) 527-2034
Email: prahn@hntb.com

Roads as utilities