The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Congestion and Road Pricing 55
say, he cites no evidence of this impossible consumer demand.)
But this is a non sequitur, since it would be possible for people to
demand better peak hour conditions even if the traffic situation
at other times had not improved.
But more importantly, the argument fails to show that the
demand for nonrush hour conditions during peak times is unreasonable.
A whole host of business establishments, catering to a
“rush hour” trade in other industries, have instituted arrangements
for dealing with peak demands. The higher quality restaurants
and hotels have initiated the practice of taking reservations,
which insure against overcrowding and disappointed customers;
theaters charge more for highly demanded evening performances
than for (otherwise) sparsely attended afternoon matinees;
vacation enterprises charge more during the “season” than in the
“off season.” To take some more peripheral, but still highly
indicative examples, umbrellas cost more when it is raining
(when there is a “rush” for them), shovels sell at a premium
when it snows, and flashlight batteries fetch a higher price during
“brownouts” or “blackouts.” Our entire economy is permeated
with arrangements which function in such a manner, so that
the plight of the “rush” customers is relieved. Far from being
“unrealistic,” customer dissatisfaction with peak hour traffic
jams is only to be expected—given all these other industries
which function so as to relieve congestion.
Third, the “unrealistic expectations” view makes much of the
slight improvements in the speed of journeys to work, without
mentioning the abysmally low level on which the comparison is
based, nor the sluggish pace we have achieved, presently, after
the much vaunted change. This approach misses the important
point; when there is a poor record of accomplishment, a marginal
improvement is no justification.
We now turn to a consideration of the last reason for supposing
that traffic congestion is really no problem at all: solving it
would cost more than it is worth. Banfield writes:
That we have not yet been willing to pay the price of solving,
or alleviating, such “problems” [as congestion] even when the