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Why are toll roads not close to efficient? In my state the toll roads are by far the nicest best maintained roads and the tolls are extremely reasonable and col

Why are toll roads not close to efficient? In my state the toll roads are by far the nicest best maintained roads and the tolls are extremely reasonable and collected without having to slow down or stop at a booth.

AstralStorm 9y ago
Who collects the tolls? Is it a private company or a government body with motive different than maximum profit? For example in Poland we got the most expensive toll motorways in Europe because a private company owns them and continues to demands exorbitant prices for passage with nobody to stop it.
- kodablah 9y ago
  > Who collects the tolls? Is it a private company or a government body with motive different than maximum profit? Private company with motive different than maximum profit. Motive: not to get subsumed and punished by the government allowing them to do this...then second motive is maximum profit. That primary motive one is an important one in all of these non-competitive industries, and can't even have a private vs public discussion without including it. Otherwise, it's just corruption/apathy and it's a different problem.
mikeash 9y ago
Try having tolls on local streets with ownership changing every couple of blocks.
Balero 9y ago
They work for highway, bridges etc. I think OP was suggesting something like every road in a city being a toll road, with a different toll per road. How much infrastructure would be needed to make this drivable, get the different road owners their money, make sure that each road owner is maintaining it. Better to have these huge number of interconnected roads maintained by one group responsible for them.
malyk 9y ago
Imagine your city is a grid...N/S streets are numbered, E/W streets are lettered. Toll roads wouldn't be efficient if 5th-18th ave are toll roads (operated by multiple companies/agencies) and then Fst-Hst and Ost-Xst were also toll roads. You'd never be able to get across the city.
- F_r_k 9y ago
  Except if you have interoperability laws in effect (like in Switzerland you can take a bus, a boat, or a train with the same ticket, yet they are different companies).

AstralStorm 9y ago

Who collects the tolls? Is it a private company or a government body with motive different than maximum profit? For example in Poland we got the most expensive toll motorways in Europe because a private company owns them and continues to demands exorbitant prices for passage with nobody to stop it.

kodablah 9y ago
> Who collects the tolls? Is it a private company or a government body with motive different than maximum profit? Private company with motive different than maximum profit. Motive: not to get subsumed and punished by the government allowing them to do this...then second motive is maximum profit. That primary motive one is an important one in all of these non-competitive industries, and can't even have a private vs public discussion without including it. Otherwise, it's just corruption/apathy and it's a different problem.

mikeash 9y ago

Try having tolls on local streets with ownership changing every couple of blocks.

Balero 9y ago

They work for highway, bridges etc. I think OP was suggesting something like every road in a city being a toll road, with a different toll per road. How much infrastructure would be needed to make this drivable, get the different road owners their money, make sure that each road owner is maintaining it. Better to have these huge number of interconnected roads maintained by one group responsible for them.

malyk 9y ago

Imagine your city is a grid...N/S streets are numbered, E/W streets are lettered. Toll roads wouldn't be efficient if 5th-18th ave are toll roads (operated by multiple companies/agencies) and then Fst-Hst and Ost-Xst were also toll roads. You'd never be able to get across the city.

F_r_k 9y ago
Except if you have interoperability laws in effect (like in Switzerland you can take a bus, a boat, or a train with the same ticket, yet they are different companies).