What's the TUF?
The Transportation User Fee (TUF) helps keep Austin’s roads, sidewalks, bridges and other mobility infrastructure in good condition.
Click here to see a larger version of the infographic above.
- Who pays the TUF?
-
City of Austin residents and businesses pay the mandatory fee to help prolong the life of city infrastructure and assets.
- How much is the TUF?
-
For current residential and commercial fees, visit the Transportation User Fee page.
- What services does the TUF provide/cover?
-
The TUF is responsible for many services that help provide safety, access, and equity for Austin residents. It funds the repair/maintenance of existing assets. The TUF maintains streets, alleys, bridges, traffic signs and signals, as well as sidewalks. In addition to street and bridge maintenance, this fee helps maintain bike lanes, urban trails, constructs ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) curb ramps, and funds crossing guards throughout the city.
- For question, complaints, and/or to report TUF-related issues, who do I contact?
-
For information or to report TUF-related issues, contact Austin 3-1-1 by phone (call 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000), via their mobile app, or the Austin 3-1-1 website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Street and Bridge Operations
These requests are handled within the Austin Transportation Department. Please call 3-1-1 or visit the Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) webpage for more information.
These requests are handled within the Austin Transportation Department. Please call 3-1-1 or visit the Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) webpage for more information.
The City of Austin uses a Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) to track pavement inventory and performance to coordinate, plan, and forecast pavement needs. The PMIS ensures that the sealcoat method is the most cost effective program for long-term pavement maintenance. The decision to maintain a specific street is primarily based on its age and condition.
Read more about street preventative maintenance and the sealcoat process.
- Minor concrete repair and construction
- Street preventative maintenance
- Right-of-way maintenance (Trees + Vegetation)
- Bridge maintenance
- Street repairs
- Tree pruning and trimming
- Sidewalk Services
View our Protected Streets List (pdf).
Updated April 2022.
Access the interactive 2022 Service Plan Map to see if your street is scheduled for preventative maintenance. To use, simply enter your address into the search field in the upper left of the map. You can zoom in and out and move the map around to see what maintenance is happening near you and all around Austin. Please call 3-1-1 to find out when a particular street is due for preventative maintenance. To hear which streets are scheduled for the following day, please call the Street Resurfacing Hotline at 512-974-9788.
Just call 3-1-1 (512-974-2000 outside of Austin) or visit 311's customer service page to make your request. You can also report issues through the 311 app available on Google Play Store or iTunes Store. Users with Blackberry, Palm, Nokia and Windows Mobile devices can access it at 311.austintexas.gov.
Residential customers may be eligible for an exemption if the person who is responsible for paying the utility bill meets one of the following criteria:
- Age 65 or older; or
- Does not own or regularly use a private motor vehicle
- Property is vacant (determined automatically each month based on electric and water usage)
If you believe you are eligible for this exemption, click here to fill out the form online or download and complete the forms below and then email the form to TUFexemptions@austintexas.gov.
Click here to download the fee exemption application.
Commercial customers may be eligible for an exemption while the property is vacant. Commercial properties must notify the City when the property is no longer vacant, or evey 6 months, whichever occurs first. The Transportation User Fee will begin billing the commercial property after 6 months if a new form is not received.
Fill out the form online (Preferred), or download and complete the form below and email to TUFVacancy@AustinTexas.Gov
Download the Vacant Commercial Property Exemption form
For additional exemption information, please call (512) 974-7696 or Austin Energy Customer Care at 512-494-9400.
Check out our illustration to see how the department is organized.
View our 2016 Annual Report for funding information.
City of Austin Sidewalk Program
New sidewalks are funded both by private development and through City of Austin Capital Project Delivery projects. When a new private development project is constructed, the developer is required to provide sidewalks. This requirement also applies to most redevelopment projects. City CIP projects that involve full street reconstruction also generally include pedestrian and sidewalk improvements. Want to learn more about sidewalk funding? View a helpful handout that breaks down the history of sidewalks in Austin, the state of the sidewalks, how sidewalks are funded and built, benefits and how you can get involved to make a difference.
In addition the City CIP program, there are also standalone Sidewalk construction and rehabilitation projects. These projects are typically funded through voter-approved bonds, but also receive funding from state and federal grants and from the City of Austin sidewalk fee-in-lieu program.
The sidewalk fee in lieu allows for developers to pay a fee in lieu of building sidewalks if the project meets a certain criteria within the Land Development Code, Chapter 25-6-354. Should the criteria be met, the developer pays the fee. The money collected, is then set-aside in a fund for future sidewalk construction in the area. The City of Austin will then notify the Neighborhood Contact Team in the area if an application for fee-in-lieu is approved as part of a new subdivision, site plan, or building permit.