Privatization of Higways and Roads

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That $56 Billion a year collected just from gasoline taxes.

Isnt that what the Government pays per mile of road?
The Governors/Presidents brother-in-law and "supports" arent cheap
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The reason I think that the roads are owned by foreign companies has to do with law suits. I would not own a road in the US cause I would go bankrupt from litigation.
 
Sounds like neocon paradise. Some politician's rich buddies will benefit from this while employees will take pay cuts, get their unions busted, etc. Not to mention you'll probably end up paying more for less.
 
Happening greatly down here.

Govt sells the rights to build a toll road to "ease congestion".

Toll road company pays Govt many millions today, and takes our money for ever.

Secret clauses "negotiated" into the toll road contract close or narrow alternative routes, "funnelling" the commuter into the new "quicker alternative" toll road.

Commuters realise that they've been fleeced, and elect not to be cattle herded into the new roads. On the newly narrowed alternate routes, congestion rises mightily.

Govt has severe pressure to re-open the closed roads. Does so on a limited scale. Toll company squeals "breach of contract".

Less than half the budgetted traffic flows down the toll roads. Those who are prepared to pay get very fast trip times and are happy.

Toll company (all outside Oz investment companies) doesn't make anticipated profits and pulls the pin, with their toll road arm going into liquidation...sues Govt (breach of contract for re-opening the alternate routes).

Public loses again.
 
We have the whole thing solved in WA state. We simply don't build new roads. It's some weird form of growth control. Except No one told the people. Or the developers. Anyone who drives E-W or W-E in King County knows there are no (new) roads. But a bunch more people.

I find the political tones in this thread a bit contrived to lob butt bombs at one group or another.
 
Pablo,
wouldn't lob anything over the issue. State and Federal Govts (here at least) are selling the future for cash injections into today's term. liberal (labor) state Govt, and Conservative (Liberal) fed are both as bad as each other, and they aren't there for the public. Investment companies are there for their purposes, and not public service. So we get what we get.

More roads doesn't fix the problem, because as a\soon as you can easier get from a to b, new developments start at a (land is at a, jobs are at b) and the roads fill back up.
 
The functional part of the scheme is to divest the government from the burden. They, as Shannow states, get cash TODAY and the public gets to pay forever. Sorta like the idea of selling off public land ..or anything owned by the government kept in trust for the people.

..but it does put the burden on a per user ..per use basis. Which, if it's such a great idea, the government could too ..and does with things like the Delaware River Port Authority, the Delaware Bay Authority, the PA turnpike, etc...etc...
 
All toll roads should be build in duplicate. One company gets to own one, and another separate company gets to own the other. Let them compete for customers.

Does anyone remember the history of private railroad monopolies?
 
Yes. But you put it in the wrong order. First you squeeze out the privatized profits ..then you put the burden of the costs on the society. You've got to have your priorities straight.
grin.gif
 
Yes toll roads are good from a you use you pay perspective. But what about efficiency, the road that comes to mind is outside of Chicago where you stop every 5 miles and dump more money in and it goes for about 5 or more stops if you are going anywhere. People man the booths etc, you stop your car and idle and wait then waste gas accelerating up to speed again. Where is the efficiency? and the bigger question is if i have to pay tolls why am I paying gas tax. Personally I think toll roads are a terrible idea for a mainstream highway, if it was applied to a ferry or shortcut bridge it might be ok as long as there were still public alternatives and it returned to the public in a timeframe that a person actually is cabable of still driving.
 
Privatization does nothing to reduce costs. Free market competition is what does the magic. There's a big difference between a private monopoly and free market competition.
 
oilyriser, excellent point.

WE keep getting told that the tollways ARE competetive, because there are a number of them, and the consumer can choose who they support...they all, however, travel in different directions. Therefore no competition.

:OT: There's one new one which the Govt gave 150 metres of another road. I use the M2 because it gets me where I'm going, and has a cash booth. They gave the M7 mob the rights to the first 150 metres, and have no booths.

I unknowingly used the M2 and paid my $3.20. weeks later, I got a bill in the mail for my 150 metres of M7...50c plus a $10 processing fee.
 
Quote:

Yes toll roads are good from a you use you pay perspective. But what about efficiency, the road that comes to mind is outside of Chicago where you stop every 5 miles and dump more money in and it goes for about 5 or more stops if you are going anywhere. People man the booths etc, you stop your car and idle and wait then waste gas accelerating up to speed again. Where is the efficiency? and the bigger question is if i have to pay tolls why am I paying gas tax. Personally I think toll roads are a terrible idea for a mainstream highway, if it was applied to a ferry or shortcut bridge it might be ok as long as there were still public alternatives and it returned to the public in a timeframe that a person actually is cabable of still driving.

Click to expand...


Been awhile since you've been on the Illinois Tollroad? We now have "open road tolling", no stop roll through at normal speeds. All you need is an "I Pass". Don't have an "I Pass" and you have to stop and pay 2x the toll as the "I Pass" folks. How is that for an incentive system?
 
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And you don't throw your political slant out at EVERY chance you get?

Click to expand...


Drew no actually I don't. I have no problem with the points of view expressed. I was looking for a few actual facts, not group labels or rather guesses as to what some so-called group thinks or wants to do to us. I stand by my paranoia statement - and again can someone actually post a news link or a congressional record? Because I want to know how to properly fight toll roads and out of control government spending rather than jaw bone about it on an oil BB.
 
Quote:

Privatization does nothing to reduce costs. Free market competition is what does the magic. There's a big difference between a private monopoly and free market competition.

Click to expand...


Ill buy that point, I can see the truth in that. THis said, it is NOT how these things seem to EVER be implemented, thus excessively high costs, and though the gov't gets a few bucks on the front end, it is of EXCEEDINGLY POOR value to us citizens over the long term. Things still dont work right, contracts dont get re-negotiated, and things don't get fixed.

I suppose with the correct implementation, things would be successful - sometimes. But there is no chance (IMO) that this will happen.

Also consider the benefit of 'big inefficient' government. Yes, to some extent it is robbing my pocket to put money into theirs. OK, fine. But when the economy dumps, and lots of private employees get canned, and are scraping to get by, at least there are still government employees that may never be able to afford high-end stuff, but can keep on buying, have some steadiness to their jobs, and can keep themselves fed and clothed and the mortgage paid. In the private side, the CEOs keep getting richer, while the small worker bee gets nothing - go starve and die in a ditch - its OK. (just one angle to think about and discuss
wink.gif
)

JMH
 
Cousincletus,

We may not agree about domestic cars, but we agree about this, the government should do the governments job.

So dust off that constituion and let's get the federal government back to doing only the THREE things it's supposed to do.

National Defense
Foreign Policy
Defense of the Constitution (Supreme Court System)

Everything else the federal government has crept into should devolve back to the states or "lower"

That just got me thinking, why are state and local governments considered "lower" than the federal government? They certainly shouldn't be.

Enough of this tangent, carry on about roads and bridges and taxes.

The above is NOT to be taken as Sex, Religion or Politics, no matter how much it may look like one of those verbotten topics.
 
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