3 ms·

How much do the road systems recover from driver usage fees?

simoncion 3y ago
Yup. > ...[no] transit system in the US has a farebox recovery ratio of above 55% and most are around 20-30% . There are a tiny handful of roads in the country that bother to even attempt to recover their operating costs. Overall, I'd bet that the road system in the US has a "farebox recovery rate" of low single-digits at absolute best. That doesn't mean we should shut it down. Publicly-accessible transit systems are a public good... one that delivers far more value than can be easily accounted for.
- dghlsakjg 3y ago
  I would be shocked if toll fees covered 1% of road costs in the US. I can’t even remember the last time I paid a toll.
  - Tostino 3y ago
    To be fair, you are paying the "toll" each time you fill up (in the form of gas taxes).
    - simoncion 3y ago
      In the US, those taxes don't come anywhere near even artillery range of paying for road maintenance, construction, and various road-support services.
    - dghlsakjg 3y ago
      And as a bus rider I pay the fare every time I pay taxes by that logic. As a side question: when I buy gasoline for my backup generator am I paying the 'toll' for that generator to drive on the road?
sien 3y ago
In Australia road users pay more than twice as much in petrol tax as is spent on roads. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-21/fuel-excise-not-being-spent-on-roads-amid-calls-to-cut-tax/100920658 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-21/fuel-excise-not-being... So the recovery ratio is more than 200%.
- sien 3y ago
  The other way to look at subsidies for transport is per passenger mile : This has data for the US. https://www.newgeography.com/content/006415-transport-costs-subsidies-mode https://www.newgeography.com/content/006415-transport-costs-...
- simoncion 3y ago
  That report says that that tax is to be spent on roads, transport, biking infrastructure & etc. I also expect that you don't have any idea how much of the total road-maintenance funding comes from that tax, and how much of it comes from other sources. (It's also... odd... to start off talking about tax and revenue policies in the US, and then suddenly switch to an entirely separate country (given that the US is uniquely car-centric and politically fucked-up) but whatever.)

Yup. > ...[no] transit system in the US has a farebox recovery ratio of above 55% and most are around 20-30% . There are a tiny handful of roads in the country that bother to even attempt to recover their operating costs. Overall, I'd bet that the road system in the US has a "farebox recovery rate" of low single-digits at absolute best. That doesn't mean we should shut it down. Publicly-accessible transit systems are a public good... one that delivers far more value than can be easily accounted for.

dghlsakjg 3y ago
I would be shocked if toll fees covered 1% of road costs in the US. I can’t even remember the last time I paid a toll.
- Tostino 3y ago
  To be fair, you are paying the "toll" each time you fill up (in the form of gas taxes).
  - simoncion 3y ago
    In the US, those taxes don't come anywhere near even artillery range of paying for road maintenance, construction, and various road-support services.
  - dghlsakjg 3y ago
    And as a bus rider I pay the fare every time I pay taxes by that logic. As a side question: when I buy gasoline for my backup generator am I paying the 'toll' for that generator to drive on the road?

sien 3y ago

In Australia road users pay more than twice as much in petrol tax as is spent on roads. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-21/fuel-excise-not-being-spent-on-roads-amid-calls-to-cut-tax/100920658 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-21/fuel-excise-not-being... So the recovery ratio is more than 200%.

sien 3y ago
The other way to look at subsidies for transport is per passenger mile : This has data for the US. https://www.newgeography.com/content/006415-transport-costs-subsidies-mode https://www.newgeography.com/content/006415-transport-costs-...
simoncion 3y ago
That report says that that tax is to be spent on roads, transport, biking infrastructure & etc. I also expect that you don't have any idea how much of the total road-maintenance funding comes from that tax, and how much of it comes from other sources. (It's also... odd... to start off talking about tax and revenue policies in the US, and then suddenly switch to an entirely separate country (given that the US is uniquely car-centric and politically fucked-up) but whatever.)