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From: jim@ll-xn.ARPA@oswald.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.politics
Subject: Re: What does driving cost?
Message-ID: <12264922421.22.MCGREW@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Mon, 22-Dec-86 18:11:04 EST
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Posted: Mon Dec 22 18:11:04 1986
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In a recent article, ametek!walton@csvax.caltech.edu writes:
>
> Why is it that, even though an automobile driven by a single person
>is clearly less efficient (uses more resources) than mass transit, 
>it is often both cheaper and more pleasant...?  There is only one 
>answer: Massive Government Subsidies...

It is quite true that automobile and *especially* truck traffic is
subsidized in this country.  The obvious solution is to raise road
taxes to reflect true costs.  After the massive rise in oil prices in
the '70's, people still preferred driving their cars.  A road tax
increase wouldn't stop people from driving either.  However, if trucks
were forced to pay for the road damage they cause, they might well
lose a lot of traffic to trains, ships, air, etc.

>The largest [subsidy] of all is that the Government owns the land on 
>which the roads are built and will not sell it, even for a good 
>price.  If the roads were privately owned, the users of the roads 
>would have to pay the owners at least as much as the owners could 
>receive by leasing the land...

This is not a subsidy.  The land owners are paid, in cash, when the
land is condemned.  They are paid the fair market value, which
includes the 'present value' of all the future lease payments you
refer to.

>    Yet we hear from the Libertarians and from the Auto Club that 
>mass transit cannot be built unless it is self supporting.  To which 
>I reply:  bring on your libertarian free transportation market!  Let
>ALL forms of transit have a price which accurately reflects the cost
>of providing it.  You may be surprised at the results, though.

I second the call for a free transportation market.  I think mass
transit would come in a distant second to the private automobile.

-- 
Jim Olsen   ...!{decvax,lll-crg,mit-eddie,seismo}!ll-xn!oswald!jim


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