[BobL]

"But if anyone believes that the private owners can allow the cost of driving on the road to be set purely by the free-market value of driving on the road, they have to be insane."

True, but even more so - how can you have a "free market" regarding highways when the government takes the land from people for one company and prevents other road builders from doing the same, so as to have competing roads. In other words, we're talking monopolies here - and in Canada, Cintra not only has a monopoly on the right of way, they also have no regulation as to what they can charge - thanks to their lawyers tricking the government of Ontario regarding the contract (something, I may add, that appears easy to also do in Austin these days).

[dangus]

Well, the fact that voters know that there is no ability to compete for the market is why there will necessarily government price controls.

If you parse my words real carefully, you'll notice I worded what I write very carefully: "The free market value of driving on the road." Absent competition, a price is set by the value of what is obtained to the consumer.