Monitor Industry and Research Potential Emerging Opportunities (67)

Description:

RUC will be an emerging field for at least two decades, so it is vital that technologies and policies are kept up to date. Monitor industry and research potential emerging opportunities to keep the state updated as technology and policy progress. Updated technologies and policies may improve user experience and reduce the total cost of operations.

Details:

State and agency leaders should read literature and attend conferences to learn about new technologies and policies that have the potential to improve RUC delivery. Private industry is constantly developing new technologies and updating existing ones, which may create opportunities for RUC. These opportunities can include improvements like better customer service or reduced operational costs. States implementing RUC may innovate policies that other states find useful. Opportunities generally will not be plug and play; they will require adaptation for each state and potentially require research and development before they can be implemented. Opportunities may or may not require law or rule changes.

Primary Use:

Ensure the state is informed of technology and policy trends.

Best Practices/Lessons Learned:

  • The most important developments are in the following areas:
    • Overall business model
    • Use of commercial account managers
    • Choice of available mileage reporting method
    • Role of automakers
    • Interoperability
  • Use conferences and workshops as opportunities to learn from peers.
  • Many opportunities, including some new technologies and policies, will not prove useful. The point is to be aware of all opportunities and spend time and funds on the most promising ones.
  • Some technologies may need to mature in other markets, and a technology ecosystem may need to be developed, before they can be applied to RUC. Spending time and money on immature technologies may not be worthwhile.
  • Medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles are different from passenger vehicles, and literature and conferences pertaining to these vehicle types are different. Progress on RUC-related topics for passenger vehicles should be monitored separately from progress on topics for medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.

State Government Context and Assumptions:

The lead and/or implementing RUC agency completes this task.