The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

356 The Privatization of Roads and Highways
the claim that roads provided by the government kill thousands
of people per year; that these deaths are attributable, not to factors
such as speeding, weather conditions, driving while intoxicated,
vehicle malfunction or driver error, which are not under
the control of the bureaucrats charged with running the roads,
but rather to the lack of managerial skill in so doing.
Then there is the issue of traffic congestion: it is bad, and it is
getting worse. The average motorist1 spent 26 more hours per
year in bumper-to-bumper traffic in 2000 than he did in 1990.
Things have come to such a pass that the word “gridlock” has
now entered our vocabulary. And this, too, stems not from any
intrinsic source, but from statist mismanagement of our roadway
system. For one thing, prices are rarely charged for road usage;
but congestion is no more than an excess of demand over supply.
At a zero price, it is no surprise that shortages should erupt. For
another, on the rare occasions that prices are charged, they are
not market clearing, peak-load prices, which would tend to iron
out rush hour demands. On the contrary, commuters, 2 who
aggravate the peaks and troughs, are charged less than other
motorists with more flexible schedules. 3
The present chapter, however, is not directly concerned with
congestion and traffic deaths as being part of the case for privatization
of traffic conduits. They are mentioned only by way of
introduction. Our present burden is to overcome difficulties in
privatizing roads, by dealing with objections and transition problems.
1See http://www.tripnet.org/CensusDataCongestionJun2002.PDF.
2Typically, for bridges and tunnels, lower prices are charged upon purchase
of a monthly ticket of about twenty-two trips. But who is more likely
to make so many trips into the center of the city each month? Obviously,
commuters. Thus, the counter-peak load pricing engaged in by the apparatus
of the state exacerbates the problem instead of alleviating it.
3Nor must we forget the fact that this Sovietization of our transport system
which leads to traffic congestion also promotes “road rage,” another
new addition to our lexicon, and thus also raises traffic fatalities.