. This is nothing but gentrification of the roads, geared to benefit the rich and wealthy at the expense of the less wealthy.
I suppose paying for the roadways with their gas taxes and license and registration fees is no reason for the less wealthy to expect to be able to use those roads without paying even more, so much more as to make sure they can’t afford it. If I get on the freeway at rush hour, I slightly delay many other travelers and pollute the air. These costs are real, but I ignore them because I do not pay them. An ideal toll forces these costs inside my choice to travel, and I only take the trip if the benefit to me exceeds the cost I would otherwise pay plus the costs I impose on everyone else.
It is also the perfect road financing tool. Reducing reliance on gasoline means finding alternatives to fuel taxes. New toll revenues will be needed to maintain our road supply.The writer is a professor emeritus of transportation engineering at USC.I applaud efforts to reduce congestion. I have always thought it unfair to “tax” those of us who use methods such as carpool lanes, van pools and public transit with additional fees.