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My goal is not to praise roads and trash transit. I was only attempting to counter the oft-promoted (too often, I might add) and absolutely false notion that the cost of building and maintaining roads (highways for the purpose of this discussion) is unfairly borne by everyone - drivers and non-drivers alike.

I mainly drive and I use transit whenever its practical so I have a vested interest in both. But what I see here is a lot of exaggeration, both of the costs of roads and the benefits of transit.

Fact is, the cost of building and maintaining highways is borne mainly by those who use them. If you don't drive, highways don't cost you much.

Transit, on the other hand, costs everyone, whether they use it or not. As a matter of fact, a significant portion of the cost of subsidizing transit is covered not only by taxes paid by drivers, but also by fuel taxes and tolls revenues collected from drivers - money that could be spend on roads, thereby reducing the road "subsidy" from non-drivers. The people who crow that "roads are subsidized" always conveniently omit that fact.

We can go on all day about the benefits of roads and transit.

Suffice to say, roads directly benefit us all. If you have an emergency, the 911 operator isn't going to ask you for your nearest Metro station or bus stop. And your favorite stores get their stock from vehicles that travel on roads.

Transit, on the other hand, directly benefits only two groups: those who use it and those who own property along its routes.

As for the money "saved" by not owning car "going straight into the economy", where do you think the money spent buying, financing, maintaining, operating, and insuring a vehicle goes? And what about the effect that traveling by car has on the travel, lodging, entertainment, and other sectors of the economy?.

Face it. A personal vehicle gives the user far more mobility - and ability to inject money "straight into the economy" - than dependence on train and bus schedules and availabilty. This isn't rocket science.

And what value value do you place on people's time and productivity? You know, the time not lost on following trainsit schedules? The time time not lost, getting to, waiting for, and riding the train or bus?

I think you'll agree, it's all relative.

by ceefer66 on Jul 11, 2012 9:30 am • link • report