MNdible wrote:Even if I never drive a car, I benefit from the existence of a well maintained transportation system. Just like even if I never call the police, I benefit from the existence of the police department. If I never collect welfare, I still benefit from the presence of a societal safety net. Etc.
Public goods, all.
I agree with you. But if you never drive a car you don't benefit from everyone else having unlimited access to an ever growing network of road infrastructure. I'm not saying I agree with the toll 100% method. The problem is everyone (businesses and people alike) assuming they have a right to direct physical access to certain types of transportation systems. It's one thing to compare public goods like welfare, police, fire fighters, national defense - things that are a basic social safety net (and I completely agree with you, and I add healthcare in that mix too). It's another to assume it's everyone's job to make sure everyone's choice of lifestyle is supported with good infrastructure no matter where they live. Similarly, we all pay the postal service to mail a letter, and have to pay more if it's a package, etc
David Levinson has a point in this regard, that the rivalrous nature of a freeway or bus blurs the line - if I use the police system that doesn't prevent someone else from enjoying it. I think this is where the ST message comes in to play - we need high capacity, high speed roadways (HSR, interstates, highways, etc) that allow people to travel from one area to another without congestion. Once you get there, we need a well-maintained infrastructure to get you around the area you're in (streets, sidewalks, bus, LRT, subway). We've mucked things up with a design of infrastructure where anyone who wants access to certain roadways gets it, and the congestion that results is attempted to be fixed by just creating more lanes. Without really charging people for the use of roadways (gas taxes are very indirect) we create a tragedy of the commons problem because one car can physically exclude another from entering the system.
My take is that capital costs of infrastructure should come out of the public fund. If you apply the ST principle, gas taxes/fares/etc should cover operating expenses and more, and the amount left over can be funded to build new infrastructure when it is financially productive to do so. Tolling, be it zone tolls, true congestion pricing, VMT, etc ensures that we have an array of options for people to use said infrastructure without delay. And again, I think if this results in a missing link of affordability, subsidize demand for that group of people.
