How Vehicle Registration Fees Affect Electric Vehicle Owners in Oregon

Everyone in Oregon is likely aware of the 2020 and 2022 price increases for registering fuel-efficient and electric vehicles. This change was significant and affected a large number of Oregon drivers. While many Oregonians are undoubtedly frustrated by this, there is a good reason for the increase. Even better news, there is a way around paying the higher prices. This article will discuss Oregon’s registration fee increase and the alternatives to paying those fees. 

How Much Did Oregon’s Registration Fee Increase? 

Right now, Oregon’s registration fees are continuing to increase. The change has been enough to warrant frustration for fuel-efficient and electric vehicle drivers. The current 2022 prices are as follows:

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What Do These Registration Fees Support?

Oregon has increased its registration fees to support a variety of safety and infrastructure initiatives in the state. These initiatives will improve the community, and the state has not obtained enough funding for them through the gas tax. Some of these plans include: 

• Preparing for Earthquakes: This involves reinforcing certain bridges and slopes in Southern Oregon. These improvements will enable people and freight to keep moving after a major earthquake. 
• Improving City Streets: The Small City Allotment program appoints $5.1 million in funding to small cities to update their local streets, making it easier for people living there to travel. 
• Creating Safe Routes to School: With this program in place, students can walk, bike, and roll to school safely. This program mainly targets low-income and disadvantaged populations. 
• Reducing Congestion: The Urban Mobility Office seeks to minimize bottlenecks in Portland because they impact the movement of Oregon’s goods from all over the state. This program targets the Rose Quarter area and the bridge connecting Oregon to Washington. 

How to Avoid the Registration Fee Increase

You may be surprised to learn that you can avoid increased registration fees while supporting these critical initiatives. The state introduced this registration fee to offset the fact that electric and fuel-efficient vehicle owners do not pay as much into the gas tax as other drivers. However, if drivers enroll in Oregon’s road usage charging program, OReGO, they will be able to enjoy reduced registration fees every year. OReGO registration fees are base-level and have not increased. They have remained at $172. When drivers enroll in OReGO, they can enjoy lower registration costs while still helping their communities. 

What is OReGO?

OReGO is Oregon’s road usage charging program, and it is an effort to replace the gas tax eventually. Instead of charging drivers based on how much gas they use, it charges based on how many miles they travel. While most drivers pay about the same as they did before, the state receives more revenue because more drivers are paying in. 

OReGO uses Azuga Insight to track driver miles and collect revenue automatically. Drivers simply install a device into their OBD port and set up a digital wallet online. Then, as they drive, Azuga Insight automatically tracks the miles and deducts money from their digital wallet. It requires very little administrative support or driver intervention. 

Vehicles that can participate must meet the following requirements: 

• Light-duty
• 20 miles-per-gallon or better rating
• Registered to an Oregon resident

Oregon has implemented this program to fund its infrastructure initiatives because it comes with various benefits not only for the state but also for drivers. These benefits include: 

• Safety: Roads in poor condition cause 14,000 highway deaths every year. When communities have the funding to repair and maintain their roads, these deaths are preventable.
• Fairer: Drivers of electric and fuel-efficient vehicles will be paying the same as drivers of regular vehicles. Everyone is using the road, so everyone should be paying the same. 
• More Funding: Experts believe that road usage charging across the nation would bring in $340 million in Highway Trust Fund funding. This means far more infrastructure initiatives in the future. 

Learn More About Road Usage Charging

If you want to learn more about road usage charging, Azuga has you covered. As the creators of Azuga Insight, we are experts in the technology and the ideology behind the program. Follow our blog or in our Info Center to keep up with updates regarding laws, technology, and the implementation of these programs.