Express Toll Lane Networks Proliferate
Networks of variably priced express toll lanes (ETLs) are being developed in more than a dozen large metro areas, and their impact is starting to be reflected in the congestion figures for those regions. Before reviewing what is going on, I want to call your attention to a new (not yet published) paper on the […]
Richard Florida’s Case for Devolution
For several decades, some policy analysts on the center/right have advocated a more-robust 21st century version of federalism, under which there would be something of a return to the founding fathers’ vision in which the federal government focused on a relatively limited number of functions (defense and foreign policy, macroeconomic policy, ensuring interstate commerce against […]
What Future for Electric Cars?
For many years, I’ve been skeptical of a vehicle future dominated by all-electric vehicles. Not that zero-emission cars wouldn’t be great (assuming a low- or zero-emission electricity supply). It’s just that most of the media and consulting firm hype seemed so over the top, ignoring real problems such as low range, slow charging, absence of […]
Express Toll Lanes Expanding Rapidly
Despite populist opposition in Charlotte, NC and parts of Texas, 2017 has been a banner year for express toll lanes (ETLs). At least eight new facilities opened to traffic this year, another dozen are under construction (or about to be), and at least another dozen new projects have been announced in eight states. The largest […]
Revenue-Risk or Availability Payment for Highway P3 Concessions?
It’s pretty clear that since 2009, there has been a trend toward greater use of the availability-payment model for long-term P3 concessions in the highway sector. Nine such projects have been financed since 2009, including the Port of Miami Tunnel, the Goethals Bridge, and the East End Bridge. During this same period, eight highway projects […]
Fed Financing Act Not at Risk from SH 130 Bankruptcy
Speaking of populist critics of P3 concessions, one of the oddest is a Virginia writer named Randy Salzman. In pieces written for various media, including Thinking Highways, Salzman has put forth the view that P3 concessions are actually scams that harm taxpayers. The opening sentence of his Feb. 9, 2017 commentary for the “Bacon’s Rebellion” […]
Many Autonomous Vehicle Assumptions Need to be Questioned
As a transportation professional, I’m a bit overwhelmed by proliferating articles and technical papers dealing with autonomous vehicles. And I’m increasingly distressed by the growing disparity between what appears in the popular media and what’s in the technical literature, because the former is what seems to motivate legislators and planners. So here are five challenges […]
Getting to Yes on Mileage-Based User Fees
Here are two recent headlines about efforts to begin the transition to paying for highways based on miles driven rather than gallons of fuel: “Senate Votes to Prohibit Mileage Tax,” Connecticut Post, May 25, 2017 “States Considering Taxing Drivers by the Mile Despite Privacy Concerns,” Politico, June 8, 2017 Both articles suggest serious problems with […]
Interstate Tolling: New Support—and Old Misconceptions
After hinting at it for several months, the White House made it clear last month: the Administration wants states to have the option of using toll financing to modernize their aging Interstate highways. Having a toll revenue stream would also make it feasible for states to enter into long-term P3 concessions to carry out these […]
Could Asset Recycling Be the Answer for Trump Infrastructure Plan?
In my April column in Public Works Financing, I pointed out that the Trump Administration faces a dilemma in its quest for a $1 trillion infrastructure program based largely on private capital investment via public-private partnerships (P3s). Any such program must be enacted by Congress, and therein lies the problem. Most Democrats and many Republicans from […]