$300 - $600 a month? How much is an individual toll?
Not a penny is justified, but that seems very high.
If there were no ‘toll’ roads, the regular roads in Austin then would be just as packed and jammed as you say. To have built these roads open to all (for free) would then have required increased property taxes, increased sales taxes, assessments, etc. IOW, another cost added on to those poor people.. So what is the answer? Make the people who are willing to pay for the construction and maintenance of them do the paying?
I’m just as big a detractor of toll roads as the next guy, but for different reasons like they start with the goal to just pay for the roads, but by the time they’re paid for, they became a damn jobs program and extra ‘free’ money for the local governments to use as their own personal cash cow.
Frankly, I’m tired of the income inequality meme. There’s a myriad of reasons why people are poor, but it isn’t always government’s (or the rich’s) fault.
I have a plan: vote for Hillary!
I suppose it would be much more fair if all roads had tolls, like around NYC!
Let the poor eat cake!
The dirty secret about the toll roads in Austin is, they are owned and operated by a company from Spain named Cintra.
I installed a lot of IT equipment for them a few years back and they spent money like it was growing on trees.
I love the high speed by-pass.
Fast, hardly any traffic. Excellent road.
Got a oll tag and the cost went way down.
Don’t drive by Austin that often but it is worth the cost.
I started at Southwest Texas State back in the early 70’s and the Dallas to San Antinio trip was always a nightmare - til the toll road came along.
Love it.
I like expensive toll roads...they make for a relaxing traffic-free drive.
“Something just doesn’t seem right about the whole thing.” Tax the Rich heh heh
Commuter rail here in New England, one of the liberal dreams, is another example of that. Typically the trains are so expensive that they aren't practically usable by anyone but middle, and upper middle class people. What good is a train that costs $23 per day to commute if you are earning minimum wage? And if you really are going to pay $4000 per year or so for the monthly pass you are better off buying a cheap car and driving it - particularly if you find someone else to ride along and share the expenses.
The toll road or lane idea is fine, as long as it is a private endeavor, and the taxpayers and drivers aren't saddled with the expense. It turns into just another tax as soon as the government figures out that they can monopolize the toll process. We see that in Massachusetts, where there is always a reason they can't remove the toll booths - even years after they Turnpike Authority paid off the bonds that the tolls were originally linked to.
Drivers licenses for only US citizens would be a start for a cure.
is 35 always choked ? I don’t seem to recall that, though I was only a casual, sometime visitor.
I like voluntary taxes. I don’t see the problem here.
Side note: I always find it curious how these computer and phone mapping sites always seem to route you to a toll road, no matter what. I’m sure there’s some monkey business going on there. If you’re driving and the phone tells you to make that turn, you do it. Then you’re stuck paying or trying to back up however long the ramp is (and some are pretty long). I imagine that has to be worth some sweet sweet kickback.
So, the regular roads in Austin are in bumper-to-bumper traffic overload.
*************
During rush hour that is correct. But take the toll roads away and see what happens.
It becomes bumper to bumper +. All things cost something. It is up to the individual to
decide and prioritize the choices.
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/foreign-company-now-owns-six-major-us-tolls-roads/
Foreign Company Now Owns Six Major US Tolls Roads
My understanding is that the roads were built with private money. So the tolls are paying back the cost of building the road.
Someone should check it out, I don’t think that there is enough volume on the toll roads so they are losing money.
New toll concept around DC. Toll lanes that adjust the cost based on the amount of traffic. The more traffic the higher the toll lanes cost. The theory is that at any price point people will drop out and the toll lanes will keep moving despite the high traffic on the “free” lanes. It’s up to you, how much is your time worth? Pure economics at work. The price is real low when traffic volume is low. It’s the time value of money.
Best to stay out of the lib hell hole and save that $600. The once every two years I have no choice but to go to Austin, I stay clear of those evil tolls.