Carma Technology Corporation, in partnership with the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), has announced the successful completion of the nation’s largest road usage charge (RUC) pilot, demonstrating the ability of smartphone-based systems to operate at an unprecedented scale.\n\nDelivered using Carma’s smartphone-first platform, the pilot enrolled more than 41,000 participants and captured over 64 million miles of real-world driving, exceeding the combined scale of all prior U.
S. RUC pilots. The effort showed that policy-grade mileage data, strong user participation, and operational flexibility can be achieved simultaneously—without proprietary in-vehicle hardware.\n\nLawrence Mulligan, CEO of Carma Technology, stated, “This project shows that road usage charging can operate at real-world scale without one-size-fits-all data collection. By using smartphones people already have, agencies can deploy RUC systems that are accurate, adaptable, and ready for statewide adoption.”\n\nMost previous U.
S. RUC pilots have involved hundreds or a few thousand volunteers. By contrast, this effort operated at orders-of-magnitude greater scale, allowing agencies to evaluate real-world performance across sustained participation, administrative workflows, and cost dynamics.\n\nAn independent evaluation conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) confirmed the program’s relevance for future statewide and multi-state RUC planning, particularly when compared with earlier approaches that relied on manual activation, vehicle pairing, or additional hardware.\n\nNick Wood, research lead at TTI, commented, “The scale of this pilot allowed us to evaluate road usage charging in conditions that closely resemble real deployment. That level of participation is critical for understanding system performance and long-term program viability.”\n\nBecause Carma’s platform is cloud-based and hardware-free, agencies were able to adjust rules, corridors, and pricing structures quickly, supporting applications such as managed lanes, tolling interoperability, and geographically specific policy design. The evaluation also showed that per-user administrative costs decline sharply at higher enrollment levels, a key requirement for sustainable statewide programs.\n\nTogether, the results provide strong evidence that Carma’s smartphone-based RUC technology can support mileage-based funding, managed lanes integration, and tolling interoperability while avoiding the cost, friction, and equity challenges of dedicated in-vehicle devices.\n\nCarma Technology Corporation develops smartphone-based mobility systems that support road pricing, managed lanes, tolling interoperability, and incentive-based travel programs.
