Pilot participants
For pilot testing, we worked with 12 rural residents, 12 trucking participants and 13 sector representatives to gather insights and create solutions that meet real needs.
Client
KDOT
Location
Topeka, Kansas
Designing RUC policy using human-centered research
The road-usage charging (RUC) model has been proven feasible since 2007, but success now means creating solutions that are simple and meet real needs. Human-centered design ensures residents are involved from the start, shaping policies they trust and adopt. KDOT partnered with CDM Smith to explore future funding options, add a Midwest perspective to the national RUC conversation and study impacts on rural and agricultural communities.
Human-centered approach
We engaged with our design partner Teague to conduct field research on 41 Kansas residents, as they built their ideal policy. The team identified real priorities, ensuring a system tailored to Kansas.
Turning research into action
In 2024, we led the Kansas RUC pilot with 570 participants and delivered insights captured in KDOT’s final report.
Partnerships
To deliver results, we partnered with Burns & McDonnell for communications support and involved technical vendors GeoToll and Trinnex.
By taking a human-centered approach, states can engage directly with residents and create standards that truly work for them. In Kansas, we partnered with KDOT to design a system informed by real user behavior, ensuring policies and solutions reflect local needs. “One of the biggest success factors of this research for KDOT is that we didn’t deliver a cookie-cutter solution. We didn’t cut and paste a solution from Oregon, Utah or Virginia and serve it to Kansas," explains RUC expert Roshini Durand. "Instead, we invested in robust user research to design the Kansas Midwest RUC pilot, which helped KDOT mitigate risk by laying the groundwork for a pilot that would meet the needs of road users in Kansas at the outset."
Client
KDOT
Location
Topeka, Kansas