What is congestion pricing or “rush hour” zones?
As a mandate of the Federal Highway Administration’s Value Pricing Pilot Program—from which ODOT received most of its funding for the Road User Fee Pilot Program—the state was required to test the ability to count separately miles traveled in congested areas during congested time periods. With a program like the Road User Fee, rates could be adjusted upward for vehicles traveling in these “rush hour” zones. The dollars raised from congestion pricing could be used to modernize roads within the areas in which they were generated.
