The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Foreword ix
Automakers do this already, but under the gun of a government
that mandates pollution levels and what kind of pollution controls
manufacturers use. Without government interference, engineers
would be free to compete to provide different technologies
to reduce costs and improve horsepower while providing cleaner
burning engines. With the inspection stickers being coded to your
automobile’s age, manufacturer, and model, there might be a separate
pollution rider on your monthly statement. Drivers of new
Hondas might see a discount, while drivers of old belchers would
pay fees that might be higher than the road tolls themselves.
Isn’t the market grand? I’m just one person describing likely
market solutions; imagine how efficient solutions would become
with 280 million minds working on the issue. Reality continues to
provide apparent (but not real) obstacles in the mind of the statist:
What about new roads, and the thorny problem of eminent
domain? Again, the market comes to the rescue. First, since roads
are already there, getting started would involve nothing other
than entrepreneurs bidding to take over. (Who would they pay
when they buy the roads? U.S. government creditors. Once the
government sells all its land, the government’s vote-buying debt
might be paid off.) Even so, new roads are being built everywhere
today, by developers who buy land and convert it to new uses.
Land alongside interstates is cheap in some places, and
expensive in others. Widening rural interstates wouldn’t be a
problem. (There would be some correlation between road tolls
and road quality/congestion.) Prices would be higher where
road owners face little competition, such as in Alaska, but lower
where people have alternatives. If prices for rural stretches of
interstate get too high, people will use planes, trains, and buses,
and road owners will be forced to lower their prices. If you think
you’re getting the interstate for free, think again: Those gas taxes
mean you’re paying one to two cents per mile now.
Anyone who wanted to build a new interstate would face the
huge task of buying up land crossing perhaps hundreds of miles.
Widening existing highways would be more likely. In Los Angeles
and other large cities where traffic is consistently choked,