Establishing the Nation’s Largest Mileage-Based User Fee Program Using Amazon Connect with the Virginia DMV

According to a 2019 report by the Virginia secretary of transportation, by 2030 the use of electric, hybrid, and other fuel-efficient vehicles will amount to a loss of $250 million in fuel-tax revenue. This revenue constitutes 25 percent of the Virginia state budget for transportation financing and infrastructure projects. The Virginia DMV was tasked with implementing a road-usage charging program for fuel-efficient vehicles to make it possible for customers to pay their highway use fee per mile instead of all at once at the time of vehicle registration, an option that often results in cost savings for customers. The Virginia DMV quickly needed a way to enroll constituents in this new program.

After requesting proposals for a mileage-based highway-usage solution and contact center, the Virginia DMV analyzed the bids and chose to work with Emovis. The company had already implemented road-usage charging programs in Utah and Oregon and could show how a permanent solution could be put in place. Emovis provides and manages a contact center solution powered by Amazon Connect, which provides superior customer service at a lower cost with an easy-to-use cloud contact center that can scale to support millions of customers. “We saw two major advantages in using Amazon Connect,” says Tom Krueger, vice president of operations at Emovis. “It easily integrated with our solution, and it improved the expandability of the solution.”

The Mileage Choice Program is offered as a pay-per-use option, an alternative to paying a flat cost at the time of vehicle registration. Customers are eligible to sign up when renewing their vehicle registration; after they enroll through Emovis, they either receive a device to plug in to their vehicles or have the data taken from in-car telematics. “Through Emovis’s work with our IT team, the implementation was seamless,” says Scott Cummings, assistant commissioner for finance at the Virginia DMV. The Virginia DMV implemented the solution in 6 months, successfully meeting the statutory deadline.

Under the strict timeline of implementation, the Virginia DMV had a baseline goal of enrolling 2,000 drivers during the first year. This matched the numbers Emovis had seen when implementing its solution in Utah, though Virginia’s pool of eligible individuals is larger because it includes fuel-efficient vehicles that are not electric. From July 2022 to January 2023, the Virginia DMV saw over 10,000 individuals enrolled, exceeding expectations and becoming the largest road-usage charging program in the nation. Using Amazon Connect, Emovis could use agents from across the United States to support customers during times of heavy enrollment. The state has almost two million eligible vehicles, and the program will continue to roll out initial eligibility to residents through July 2023, with enrollment remaining available going forward. “We went far and above our goal very early after enrollment began. We were really pleased that there was a positive response from our residents when they signed up for the program, which is supported by Amazon Connect,” says Cummings.

With this solution, Virginia DMV staff did not have to figure out how to program devices to capture mileage or account for device inventory. “There’s very little staff time that the Virginia DMV needs to devote to this program,” says Cummings. “Emovis interacts with customers, collects miles, and sends invoices. Emovis is doing all the heavy lifting, and that’s a great benefit to us.” Because Emovis—using Amazon Connect—handles the customer service for the Mileage Choice Program, the Virginia DMV can continue operations as normal, with no added burden to Virginia DMV personnel. Amazon Connect facilitates interactions with customers and can scale to accommodate thousands of agents.

The long-term goal of this solution is to help the Virginia DMV address declining fuel-tax revenues, which make up 25 percent of the state’s funding to maintain roads, bridges, and tunnels and to improve transportation infrastructure. By using Amazon Connect, the Virginia DMV does not have to handle any manual processes or crunch numbers outside the system. Customers are able to apply for the new program during registration using the Emovis solution powered by Amazon Connect. “We have a lot of room to grow the program,” says Cummings. “The work we’re doing with Emovis is a great step in the right direction.”