As President Obama continues to build his cabinet, I don’t like what I am hearing from his nominee to the Transportation Department.  In this Wall Street Journal story, they say that he is making the case to give a bigger role to the private sector in rebuilding our roads and bridges.  Here is a quote from the story:

“There’s not going to be enough money,” Mr. LaHood told the Senate Commerce Committee. “I think we do have to think outside the box.”

Now I agree that there is not enough money for all the necessary transportation projects, but how is this thinking outside the box?  Allowing private investors to build, operate and maintain new toll roads and bridges is very dangerous to our economy.

In another story, Mr. LaHood gives his endorsement for more toll roads.  This is such a short sighted strategy to “fix” our long term transportation problems.  State governments are desperate to make up their budget gaps and these large upfront payments look very attractive.  Unfortunately, as time goes, by the private investors enjoy steady returns on their investment from hard working commuters.

Here is one such example where a foreign corporation contributes less than $350 million to a $1.9 billion taxpayer funded project, yet they are set to enjoy 80 years of profit from the tolls.  The private company will build High Occupancy Toll lanes on the Capital Beltway in Northern Virginia.  Once the lanes are completed in 4 years, drivers will be charged $1 a mile during rush hours.  Are you kidding me, who can afford this on a daily basis?

I have written a few other posts on how much I despise tolls.  They are one of the most inefficient ways to fund a road and they greatly contribute to traffic, accidents and additional carbon emissions.  Once erected, they never come down and the prices rise with little or no control from the people who actually use the roads.

Since when is building more tolls and sticking commuters with the bill considered “thinking outside the box”?  The answer can not be to just build additional transportation infrastructure since we continue to always exceed the capacity of our roadways.  Real innovative thinking will produce solutions that cut our consumption and conserve energy.  Don’t you agree?

photo credit: richardmasoner

Today new toll rates went into effect for vehicles traveling on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike.  Yes, I travel on both of these roads every week and I hate tolls.

These are not small increases.  On the Parkway, the price at most booths will rise from .35 to .50 or an almost 43% increase.  Where else can you raise your prices by 43% and get away with it?  The Turnpike is just as bad where the average ride will increase from $1.20 to $1.70 or an almost 42% rise.

photo credit: bovinity

Many drivers will continue to ride these roads and pay the increases since there are not many options.  Others will attempt to avoid the tolls and look for free alternatives.  This will result in more congestion on these roads and increase the already bad traffic.  Ultimately this means longer commutes with more wasted time and gas.

So why the increase?  These additional revenues are to be used to fund various construction projects at a cost of over $8 billion.  Yes, $8 billion, plus committing another $1.25 billion for a tunnel to Manhattan.

Am I the only one who thinks this is an incredible waste of our money?  Just what we need in a bad economy, higher commuting costs.

We HATE tolls!

Toll collection is the least efficient and most expensive way to fund a road.  Just think of all the associated costs:

• Toll construction
• Toll collectors salary & benefits
• E-Z Pass systems
• Administration

photo credit: HelveticaFanatic

Toll roads are very inefficient:

• Require vehicles to stop or slow down
• Manual toll collection wastes time and raises vehicle operating costs
• Collection costs can absorb up to third of revenues
• Traffic diversion to “free” roads increases congestion on those roads

Besides the actual cost of the toll, they also greatly contribute to traffic and pollution.  They also increase wear and tear on our cars through the need to brake more often.  Finally, tolls unfairly place the burden of paying for the roads on daily commuters.  Toll increases threaten to make it harder for many lower and middle income earners to afford their daily commute.

If Passenger Energy became successful, a percentage of each transaction could go towards road maintenance and construction and maybe eliminate the need for tolls.