Abstract
This paper analyzes options for exposure-based charging for long multiple trailer truck permits. Long trucks—Rocky Mountain doubles, turnpike doubles, and triple trailer combinations—are granted permits because they provide increased technical productivity for hauling low-density freight. Experiences in the Canadian Prairie Region indicate that standardization of rationales used to establish permit charges is increasingly important as the network permitting long trucks expands and enables regional operation. Contributing to the differences in charging perspectives is the cube-out condition under which most long trucks operate, which challenges the justification for assessing incremental fees for their operation. An analysis of truck size and weight regulations governing the cubic trucking domain demonstrates that trucks in this domain are ideally suited for freight densities up to about 240 kg/m3 (15 lb/ft3). Four exposure-based options for establishing permit charges are presented: revenue-based charging, cost recovery, incentive provision, and privatization. Carrier costs and public revenues for three cases in the revenue-based charging option—benefit-sharing, revenue neutrality, and full benefit taxation—are analyzed and compared with the current base case conditions in Manitoba. The analysis reveals increases in turnpike double operating costs ranging from 2% for revenue neutrality to 50% for full benefit taxation. Corresponding public revenue increases for these three cases range from 30% for revenue neutrality to a 12-fold increase for full benefit taxation. The sensitivity of the results to freight density and utilization demonstrates the need for charges to reflect differences between cube-out and weigh-out conditions, and the distance traveled by long trucks.
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