Re:25% of US/Canada trade depends on a single privately owne...
by Symbiote on Monday January 15, 2024 @11:05AM
(#39002365)
Everything you write also applies to railways, but in most of the world there are taxes to pay for all/part of their construction and maintenance, and use fees to pay for all/part of each journey made.
In some countries, the majority of motorways are toll roads: https://about-france.com/geo/motorways.htm
Should the owner of a toll road have to pay money back to subsidize the costs of the roads which give access to their toll road? Vehicles need to be able to get on/off the road before tolls can be collected.
Or, if we apply your logic, then it is impossible for people to live in rural areas, because the cost of the roads is more than the local economy can bear.
Road networks are an infrastructure investment. Since they are networks, the value comes from the entire network. What is the value of a road with no on or off ramps?
Because the value is so diffisive over both space and time, the only effective way to account for and recoup the cost is through a mechanism that can take a share of the economic growth resulting from the network.
i.e. taxes.