They'd Make You Pay For Cutting Congestion
Look for the usual anti-truck interests to jump on this one.
Doug Condra
President
A November press release proposes a simple remedy to unclogging America's highways. Its headline:
"ROAD USER PRICING COULD HELP EASE AND MANAGE U.S. TRAFFIC CONGESTION."
The story is about research done by Deloitte, a company billing itself as "one of the nation's leading professional services firms" that provides audit, tax and financial advice. "Road User Pricing" is its kinder, gentler term for highway user fees.
In this case, Deloitte proposes that commercial trucks and commuters should be charged for going into and out of congested areas.
Surprise, surprise — more fees on trucks. Here are some of Deloitte's points supporting its contentions:
• Road user pricing is growing around the world. A program in London, which charges drivers who enter the city between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., has cut congestion 40% and raised traffic speeds an average of 37%.
• In Singapore, a charge levied in a restricted zone reduced traffic by 45%, and cars traveling into the city center by 70%.
• In Southern California, the 91 Express Lanes (toll roads) take a third of the traffic off the free lanes that parallel them, and allow much higher average speeds.
Deloitte says that efforts under way here and abroad "show that curbing gridlock comes down to the proper pricing of road space," and that road user pricing will "allow businesses to move goods more efficiently, and workers [to] arrive at the office on time."
It also points out that Congress has authorized a six-year pilot program to provide states with incentives to install road pricing, and that Florida, Oregon and Washington, D.C. are considering road pricing options.
Here are some of our observations on the successes cited above:
• London: Raising the average rush hour speed (which is maybe 7 mph) by 37% would get the city's traffic almost up to 10 mph. Britons are charged five pounds (about eight U.S. bucks) to get in and out of town. Seems like a lot to pay every day for 3 mph.
• Singapore: If you take 70% of the cars out of a thriving downtown, what does it do to the district's businesses (unless maybe you're selling bicycles)?
• Southern California: The 91 Express Lanes were built as additional roads; that's why they relieved congestion on that route. Incidentally, their tolls have been increased several times since they opened.
The Deloitte study says road user charges are designed "to provide incentive for the customer to make the most efficient transportation choice." We doubt that the trucking industry will consider paying more fees to be in the interest of efficiency.
Trucking already pays state and federal fuel taxes, use taxes, retail taxes, tire taxes, registration fees and tolls. Its costs will climb even higher as new hours of service rules and equipment regulations kick in and the supply of drivers again becomes critical.
Where will trucking get the cash? Easy answer: higher freight rates. The hard part: making them stick.
And where will all the money from these road user charges go? Road maintenance? Maybe; maybe not. Politicians and bureaucrats will be involved in that decision, you know.
When the Olympic games were held in Los Angeles nearly two decades ago, truck deliveries were restricted to off-peak hours. After some hand-wringing over fears of lost efficiencies, the system worked smoothly overall — without adding to costs.
Road user charges no doubt have their place in some circumstances, but there have to be better solutions in others.
Don't look for trucking to jump on the Deloitte bandwagon — but you can bet a lot of other interests will.
E-mail Doug Condra at dcondra@truckinginfo.com, or write PO Box W. Newport Beach, Calif. 92656.
