Oregon’s Road Usage Charge Program (RUC) is officially titled OreGo and will start implementation July 1 this year.
Created by Oregon Senate Bill 810, the RUC allows the Oregon Department of Transportation to charge a per-mile fee for volunteer motorists. The charge is 1.5 cents per mile, but only 5,000 cars and light-duty commercial vehicles (with less than 10,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating) are allowed in the program initially this year.
Motorcycles and non-motorized vehicles are excluded.
Only 1,500 vehicles that are rated at less than 17 mpg can join, and only 1,500 vehicles with 17-22 mpg can join.
The program is voluntary in every sense, as even tracking mileage is based on the honor system. Motorists can use means ranging from GPS tracking to a personal journal to keep up with the mileage.
Drivers will get a monthly bill, then a rebate to offset the state’s existing gas tax of 30 cents per gallon.
More information as well as sign-up information is available at the program’s website.
