Posted on 10/10/2017 8:10:17 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
No city in America runs on anything resembling a free-market model. But Texas' major cities are probably the closest thing, with vast improvements to their economies and living standards to show for it. Their looser land-use laws mean that housing supply grows quickly, stabilizing prices. Their lighter tax and regulatory structure helps businesses locate there and grow. And—shenanigans from the governor's office notwithstanding—their openness to immigrants means they have cheap and robust labor forces.
But one market-oriented aspect little discussed is Texas' approach to transportation. The state has 25 toll roads, more than any other state. They are particularly common in Houston and Dallas, with notable examples including the Sam Houston Tollway in Houston and the LBJ Express in Dallas. Although toll prices vary depending on time and demand, many roads are traversed for under $1.
Texas' toll roads began as public entities, but in 2003, amid shortfalls in transportation funding, a state law was passed allowing new and existing ones to enter public-private partnerships. This brought several advantages, said Bob Poole, director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation. The private sector—which encompasses contractors and investors, often from overseas—brought in floods of capital and innovation, creating a much more self-sustaining system.
In a typical scenario today, said Poole, the upfront expenditures that go into building a private toll road are between 15-20% government-funded (with the revenue coming from state and federal gas taxes, which are technically a user fee anyway). This is opposed to most major roads, which saddle taxpayers with the full construction costs.
From there, ongoing road maintenance is covered by the actual road users. Poole says that oftentimes, deals are structured so that the excess revenue goes back into government coffers, or at very least, to pay off construction debts. This was confirmed by a state DOT estimate which found that eliminating tolls would cost Texas $40 billion in revenue.
But what the government is not forced to do for Texas' public-private toll roads is assume much of the risk. If a road fails—such as one stretch did along a rural portion between San Antonio and Austin—it is shuttered, and the costs eaten by the private investors. Contrast this with most other major U.S. roadways, which don't have this level of user-fee-based accountability. Instead, they are funded--without question and in perpetuity--by gas tax revenue (and increasingly, general fund revenue). Without any market correction process, such roads don't endure the same scrutiny about whether they are even justified. Money for them just keeps rolling in, footed by taxpayers.
Another thing Texas' toll roads have accomplished is greater mobility. The Dallas and Houston metros, in particular, have been the nation’s two fastest-growing metros by net population since 2010. But their congestion levels are not as bad as similar-size metros, according to traffic studies by Inrix and TomTom. This is because they've expanded highway capacity to accommodate population growth, acknowledging that the laws of supply and demand apply to roads like with anything else. Perhaps more crucially, though, they’ve priced the use of these roads, to avoid a tragedy of the commons. And it has worked at creating many excellent, self-funded roads: as I can attest from having lived last summer in Houston, Dallas and Austin, toll roads proliferate throughout each metro, are free-flowing, and charge users electronically, so that they're not having to stop and pay at booths.
The most congested portions of Texas' cities, meanwhile, are the major roads that follow the generic socialized model, rather than this private one. For example, the stretch of I-35 going through central Austin is notoriously congested; this is because, as a federal interstate, it cannot by law have its existing lanes converted into toll lanes.
Yet despite the clear advantage in quality, efficiency and cost to the public, Texas' private toll roads have grown increasingly shunned. In a poll by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, toll roads scored as the least popular way to solve Texas' traffic issues. And the internet proliferates with bad press about Texas' toll roads, with much of it surfacing from local papers and blogs.
Scott Beyer owns a media company called The Market Urbanism Report, and is traveling the U.S. to write a book on reviving cities. His Twitter handle is @sbcrosscountry.
Rick Perry tried to sell Texas tollroads to a company in Spain for windfall revenue.
And such agreements include non-compete clauses that prohibit alternate free roads from being built.
Another thing Dallas did in the 70s was bus school kids across town. Black kids to predominantly white schools and white kids to black schools. That greatly increased the traffic congestion. They’d have had it worse if it weren’t for the white fight outta there.
The stupid hov lanes were suppose to reduce traffic. Now a lot of them in DFW are shut and have become trash dumps, both directions. A better idea would have been more lanes for traffic.
And by the way, the state of Texas can’t ever finish the I-35 highway segment between Waco and Dallas, but somebody has been getting rich off of that for decades. You’d have to be an idiot to trust the Texas government to do the right thing at this point in time. Our previous governor was hellbent on making a lot of private companies (donors) rich off of Texans with tollroads.
They've been working on converting US-59 to I-69 from south of Cleveland to Livingston (About 30 miles) for over 30 years.
US-190 has been approved to be turned into I-14 (Forts to Ports interstate connecting Ft Polk to Ft Hood). Hold onto your wallets.
Same with the Turnpike through Kansas. That dream went away long ago. They are now updating the toll booths with better readers for those with K-tags.
“You never pay tolls or gas taxes.
If you’re paying a toll, you’re paying both.
Your comment that you only pay gas taxes or tolls was not accurate.”
You’re right. However, they’re both use taxes so user pays the sum of the two to get to the aggregate. I don’t know how user cost in Texas compares with the rest of the country. I do know, having traveled in the north east some on business that toll roads are extortion up there, most specifically New Jersey and Massachusetts (especially Boston). Just a side note all toll roads in Texas have service roads along side. So, it’s possible to get where you want to go by using the service roads; slow but still possible. Personally, I’m ok with toll roads as they’re built much faster than public roads. And, being Texas is growing so fast we can’t wait around forever for government contractors to screw around.
Delaware Route 1 bump
If you look at a history of these public-private ventures for toll roads you find that they have two major flaws:
1. They are based on traffic volume and revenue forecasts that rarely pan out.
2. The investors don't account for the enormous liability of owning a type of asset that typically sees 35,000 to 40,000 fatalities in the U.S. every year.
Why should granny pay for someone else’s birth control pills? Why should non-drivers pay for a highway? Why should your property taxes pay for a stranger’s use of your local road?
Texas has retired toll roads once completely paid.
This model should be in use everywhere. Public roads still exist, but you can pay a small amount and get better road speed.
Yes, good analogy.
Exactly! Ridiculous proposition. And the toll roads I have traveled are no better than other roadways... corruptocrat money grab.
You never pay just tolls. Therefore you can write gas taxes or tolls all you want, but you can never pay just tolls.
“Or” does not work. Whats more, you know it.
I understand where you are coming from, and I appreciate you explaining so I can know what is on your mind.
It just really drives me nuts to see the reckless abandon by our leaders who tax us and tax (or toll, basically the same thing) us again on the same damned thing.
Look at your phone bill. The list of taxes is absurd.
“or” FAIL
I appreciate the note of agreement.
There are people buying gasoline all over the state of Texas every hour of every day. Every single gallon purchased has a gas tax fee added in. Fact is, taxes are added in before the gas even gets to your state.
The federal government taxes oil products along the way from the ground to the refinery too.
I’ll bet you would be astounded at how many millions of dollars in gas taxes are being paid every single day, just in Texas.
Some states add on more gas taxes.
It’s not the cost per mile of your gas tax, it’s the astounding amount of money they already collect from us. As with every other issue, it is simply never enough.
It’s time we starting calling our leaders on it.
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