WSP worked with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to design, develop, deploy and evaluate a six-month demonstration that tested how to assess a per-mile road charge on emerging transportation technologies and existing business models. This demonstration showed how a per-mile road charge could be assessed using automated vehicles, usage-based insurance, transportation networking companies, fueling pumps and electric vehicle charging technologies. It also offered a scalable, flexible and interoperable solution that is serving as a blueprint for future road usage charge programs in California and across the country.
This is a first-of-its-kind demonstration as road usage charging is being examined as a supplemental use case to already established and widely accepted markets. The outcomes from the California Four-Phase Demonstration have laid a path for other states to follow when considering how to make per-mile road charging easier to understand, and more familiar to their various motorists.
WSP led every managerial, administrative, technical and operational aspect of the demonstration. Our team created the initial project plans; concept of operations and operational scenarios; requirements specifications and interface standards; subcontract agreements with nine different partners, technology companies and account providers; public opinion research and communications materials; evaluation strategies and performance metrics; and final reports. Our team led efforts with Caltrans to demonstrate multi-state interoperability, compliance and enforcement metrics and data exchanges, and policy considerations for future road charge programs. WSP also led the effort to develop a centralized data warehouse that integrated data from multiple disparate streams through a single platform. This platform provided real-time data analytics and dashboarding that will allow California to make informed data-driven decisions.
