Maui Council committee to receive presentation on road usage charge project

A Maui Council committee will hear a presentation tomorrow on a proposed road usage charge pilot project, a method to pay for infrastructure such as roads and bridges based on miles driven instead of gallons of gas purchased.

The Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on July 11, to receive a presentation from the state Department of Transportation and engineering firm CDM Smith on the department’s pilot project for electric vehicles.

Committee Chair Yuki Lei K. Sugimura, who is also vice chair of the council said, “I look forward to hearing more about their research and how a road usage charging system would impact our residents. I appreciate their efforts to continue looking for more ways to address Hawaiʻi’s roadway funding challenges.”

As fuel tax revenues decrease, the State Department of Transporation recommended the adoption of a per-mile road usage charge to provide fair and sustainable funding for the state’s road infrastructure, Sugimura said.

The legislature established, SB1534, SD2, HD3, CD1, a pilot project beginning July 1, 2025 for electric vehicles to create a milage-based road usage registration surcharge or a per-mile road usage fee.

No legislative action will be taken at the meeting. For more information on the project, visit a website created by the DOT at hiruc.org or visit the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s website at https://tinyurl.com/ye23tmx8.

In-person, online and phone testimony is welcome at all meetings. Testimony instructions are on the meeting agendas, available at: mauicounty.us/agendas. For more information on the meeting, contact committee staff at [email protected] or 808-270-7838.