Texas and Other States on the Road for Tolls
For Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick Texas will get more toll roads even if they have to kill us financially to do it.
They are trying to finance toll roads from a new, ‘creative’ approach in taking tax dollars and retirement funds to ensure that their special interests make a fortune from toll roads.
https://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/08/22//0822roads.html
The number one fact about toll roads remains that they are NOT cost-effective over time and they generate long-term debt to the state, drivers and taxpayers. Furthermore, toll roads often create other problems.
https://www.tollscreategridlock.org/true-cost-of-toll-roads.html
There are other reasons governments push for toll roads. Some governments throughout the world “have introduced tolls in pursuit of a general policy to increase the extent of “use related payment” or with the goal of reducing road use and internalizing the negative effects of road usage (for example, congestion related prices). This is central to a ‘sustainable’ transport policy. In the Netherlands tolls are levied with the express intention of directing road users to other means of transport, both to ease road traffic conditions and to encourage use of the railways and inland waterways.”
https://www.worldbank.org/transport/roads/toll_rds.htm
In addition, there is little accountability re: toll costs and revenue of the toll roads once they are built. Representative Mark Strama’s (who supports toll interests) bill highlights both the concerns he cites, but also the ones he isn’t mentioning.
https://www.house.state.tx.us/news/release.php?id=1819
Furthermore, most of the time, toll roads throughout the nation are infinite forms of taxation and costs of the tolls frequently are raised and/or manipulated by the toll management.
https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/06/04/BA174332.DTL
Raising toll costs has occurred frequently in the past; consequently, it will happen more often with future toll roads.
https://online.wsj.com/article/SB111326348040604069.html
The rational for toll roads is that there is a need by governments to remove themselves from providing means of transportation. They cannot management and operate such systems professionally as can private industry.
Government does not have an endless financial resource to continue providing transportation unless it markets or leases from private industry.
A transportation system based on a pay for use plan continues to be the mold of the future.
https://www.reason.org/transportation/index.shtml
There are other methods of building roadways that must be researched which are more cost-effective. We as a nation must think “out of the box” when it comes to future transportation needs; however, currently toll roadways are NOT the solution — they remain part of the problem.
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