Private roadnet?

[Snotty]

Spiffor, the British people are held hostage by that 'pay per junction' fast road heading south out of Calais. Is that the way they charge tolls on other roads? Or is that purely a tax on the British?

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Snotty
Spiffor, the British people are held hostage by that 'pay per junction' fast road heading south out of Calais. Is that the way they charge tolls on other roads? Or is that purely a tax on the British?

Well, I never went to Calais, so I don't know how it happens there. The fee can be taken in a different fashion, depending on the company (for examle, on the Paris-Strasbourg autoroute, you have to stop at the booth and pay a small fee every few dozen kilometres. On the Paris-Bordeaux autoroute, you take a ticket at the entrance, and you pay at the exit, according to the distance you drove).

I'm not sure what you're referring to in Calais. Is the only way out of the tunnel to use a paying Autoroute?

[duke o' york]

Does anyone know how well the M6 toll motorway is doing here? Does it generate lots of cash, and do the traffic jams there seem less than elsewhere?

[Krill]

M6 Toll is good, that is all I know.

[Snotty]

the area around calais is free, but if you want to take the main motorway (dual carraigeway really) south then you get a ticket and you pay when you leave the motorway. Each off ramp you drive past puts the price up a bit more. Oddly enough I dont remember the toll booths, but my gf says they were automated.

It just forced us into navigating the smaller roads down the coast so we could avoid paying. the country side was lovely of course but if you wanted to get south fast you would end up paying through the nose

[:) Smiley]

In California freeways are called freeways for a reason. It's the reason gas costs so much here.

Bridges are tolled, however. Inadequately, which is why 16 years after the earthquake the replacement span of the Bay Bridge is still in construction. Currently, the old bridge with "temporary" repairs is used.

There is also a small stretch of private highway somewhere in SoCal.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Sava
privatizing roads?

what kind of god-awful libertarian hell idea is that?

QFwhythehellamIagreeingwithSava

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Snotty
the area around calais is free, but if you want to take the main motorway (dual carraigeway really) south then you get a ticket and you pay when you leave the motorway. Each off ramp you drive past puts the price up a bit more. Oddly enough I dont remember the toll booths, but my gf says they were automated.

It just forced us into navigating the smaller roads down the coast so we could avoid paying. the country side was lovely of course but if you wanted to get south fast you would end up paying through the nose

That's pretty much how it works everywhere. If you want to go fast, you pay the toll. If you can go more slowly, you use the free roads. It's for everybody, and definitely not only for the British

[Provost Harrison]

Well we just have a particular stretch of road that is toll (M6 toll) that bypasses Birmingham at speed. And it's worth every penny

[Colonâ„¢]

Re: Re: Private roadnet?

Originally posted by Spiffor
As an aside: now that the older Autoroutes have been entirely paid for, the State has decided to privatize them entirely. We'll throw this goldmine away for a mere 10 billion €, whereas they could have brought 40 billion € to the state in the coming 20 years (Useless to say, the capitalists are very very happy with their investment)

You know, it's fair enough to argue that there's no reason the private sector would operate more efficiently than the state, or that state intervention is required to correct market failures or social injustices, but the state should never ever be operating in a certain sector for the sole purpose of raising cash. You got taxes for that.

[VetLegion]

How many countries use "vignette" (sp?). Austrians have this system. There are no toll booths, just a sticker you pay for and can drive for a week on all highways. You can also buy longer, but not shorter. It's a tax on Croatians going one day shopping in Graz

[Spiffor]

I think the Swiss have the same system, but that it lasts for a whole year

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Colon
You know, it's fair enough to argue that there's no reason the private sector would operate more efficiently than the state, or that state intervention is required to correct market failures or social injustices, but the state should never ever be operating in a certain sector for the sole purpose of raising cash. You got taxes for that.

With an upcoming 3.5% of deficit, we shouldn't be spitting on any income source

(Besides, the users will pay for the frigging Autoroutes anyway. What's wrong with this money going to hospitals instead of going to the pockets of a few fat cats?)

[Colonâ„¢]

Originally posted by Spiffor

With an upcoming 3.5% of deficit, we shouldn't be spitting on any income source

(Besides, the users will pay for the frigging Autoroutes anyway. What's wrong with this money going to hospitals instead of going to the pockets of a few fat cats?)

Doesn't France have corporate tax? Or divided tax? I suspect the state still receives a substantial share of the cash before it ends up with the shareholders.

Just raise the taxes. The state should intervene in economic sectors to correct wrongs in society, not to serve itself.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by DanS
By and large, the US does not have too many private toll roads. Rather, highways are funded through gasoline taxes.

Gasoline taxes seem to be the way to go, except that it's a crude tool to regulate traffic congestion.

You have more than Canada does, in my experience.

Toll roads are wastes of time, and increase congestion around the booths.

I understand the need for certain toll roads (for instance, certain bridges which cross state or international lines) but most of the time toll roads are stupid.

Plus Delaware charges 6$ in tolls for 5 miles of travel through the state along I-95

*****.