The Bend City Council adopted the Transportation Fee on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at their regular City Council meeting.

A Transportation Fee is a recurring fee collected from residents and businesses because of their impact to the transportation system in City limits. The fee provides a stable source of revenue to support our transportation system, allowing for safe and efficient movement of people, goods, and services.

The Transportation Fee is collected through the customer’s regular utility bill. The fee is a charge, like a monthly sewer charge, to ensure users of the road system share the costs of maintenance needed to keep the street system operating at an adequate level.

The City maintains a growing transportation system that includes 900 lane miles (an 11% increase since 2008), 516 sidewalk miles, and, in recent years, an expanding network of striped, separated, and buffered bike lanes (111 miles and counting). Limited funding, a growing transportation system, and cost escalation have resulted in an increasing backlog of maintenance needs. The City can no longer rely on declining and discretionary funds to maintain its transportation network.

Maintaining our transportation system is crucial to protecting the City’s investments. Some benefits of the Transportation Fee include:

• Protected assets: Protecting the investment we’ve made in our transportation system by keeping good roads good through cost-effective preventative maintenance.
• Better service: More frequent sweeping, plowing, and striping on priority routes, including streets, bike lanes, roundabouts, bridges, and key cycling routes.
• Increased safety: An increase in buffered bike lanes, sidewalks, ADA ramps, multi-use paths, and safer intersections and crossings.
• Improved quality: Fewer potholes and smoother pavement.

The fee will be phased in and will start appearing on utility bills after July 1, 2024. Phase 1 will have a revenue target of $5 million in fiscal year 2024-2025. Single-unit utility bill accounts will pay $5.60/month the first year. Multi-unit attached housing (like an apartment) accounts will pay $4.15/month (per unit) and households that qualify for Utility Billing Assistance $2.80/month in the first year.

To learn more about the Transportation Fee, visit bendoregon.gov/transportation-fee.