Raising tolls to reduce traffic congestio is EXACTLY what Houston did. Problem was, there was no other route to take.
“Raising tolls to reduce traffic congestio is EXACTLY what Houston did. Problem was, there was no other route to take.”
I agree...Beltway 8 is badly overpriced. The temptation to address congestion by raising tolls certainly does spill over to the government side...but the difference being that there is at least some degree of recourse.
These 50 to 99 year contracts that a single corrupt administration can (and do) sign, has absolutely no recourse, as the Canadians were forced to learn with their 407 ETR highway, when they tried in court to re-open the contract. These companies hire some damn good lawyers - and people like Rick Perry, even if he weren’t corrupted, would not stand a chance against them in ‘negotiations’. It’s a scary thought that 90% of the country could easily be priced off the Interstates if our politicians screw up these deals. But, I guess, if I did have the extra $10k to $20k a year to drive on these roads, they’d probably be enjoyable...at least for me.