As Road Pricing Summit 2025 approaches, CiTTi Magazine continues its profile series of confirmed speakers at the internationally recognised event.
Taking place on 18-19 September at the Hyatt Regency Miami in Downtown Miami, Florida, the summit will bring together senior public- and private-sector stakeholders to address one of the most urgent challenges in transport finance across North America: replacing declining gas tax revenues with sustainable funding for roads and infrastructure.
The two-day conference will convene policymakers, industry leaders and innovators to exchange best practice on the planning, financing, implementation and operation of tolling, road usage charging (RUC) and mobility pricing schemes spanning highways, urban roads and cross-border corridors.
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Among the confirmed speakers is Christian Schonlau, chief financial officer (CFO) at the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County.
At RTC, Schonlau oversees the accounting, budgeting, auditing, federal grant compliance, risk management, procurement, and financial planning functions of the RTC.
Schonlau has more than 10 years of experience in government finance and has a diverse background in local funding, grants, accounting, budgeting, and regulatory operations.
This includes serving as CFO for several government agencies and also spent some time in the governor’s finance office.
At this year’s Road Pricing Summit, Schonlau will discuss the trials and tribulations of infrastructure funding in Washoe County including various legislative strategies, alternative funding mechanisms and tax tolerance limits.
Name: Christian Schonlau
Job Title: Chief Financial Officer
Organisation: Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County
What is the most rewarding aspect of your role?
I enjoy working with three unique functions of transportation. Being the MPO, Transit Provider, and Road Builder allows me to see how all the pieces fit together and challenges me to fund the individual components effectively.
What is the most pressing challenge for user-financed transportation in 2025?
In Nevada, there is a heavy resistance to adding new tax or fee structures in any area, even in infrastructure related activities. Policy options for addressing the funding issues went unheard in the recent legislative session.
What is your best piece of advice for those implementing user-financed transport schemes?
Understand the environment you are working in and try to anticipate the challenges you might face in rolling out new solutions.
Does legislation support or hinder innovation in this sector?
Legislation has some authorising language for my agency on existing tax bases, but has been resistant to adding new mechanisms.
How will user-financed transport schemes evolve by 2030?
In Nevada, it is likely that we see a flat or graduated fee structure for EV and high efficiency vehicles.
Why are you looking forward to speaking at the Road Pricing Summit?
I enjoy learning and sharing about progress toward road pricing around the US and how we can all work together to advance the topic.
With a comprehensive agenda, high-level speakers and exclusive networking opportunities, the Road Pricing Summit is the only independent annual forum of its kind for tolling and road pricing professionals across the USA. Register here!
