boycott toll road? (Dallas, Austin, Waco: buy, schools, property taxes)

[ROY DUBOSE]

Originally Posted by Brad17

Hey all, I know i'm only 17 years old, and I have know that me and my friends have little to none real knowledge about the world... but I was hoping to boycott the toll roads for a week to get what ever company that owns it to lower the price, or even go bankrupt... I do realize that this is a long shot and that not every one will do it. If you could spread the word and suggest a week that would be good for this boycott... thanks

is there a paricular reason or incident that's spawned this effort?

[cmacemm]

yeah dude, since Texas has tons of money to spend on public roads right now...

[someguyatx]

Not a bad idea but that extra $2 a day saves me 30 minutes in traffic. I think the toll rate should be lowered in off peak hours, evenings and weekends to encourage use.

[Brad17]

Ok... I understand that people like using them, I use them to i just hate dishing out money every time i go 2 miles down them. If the people of Austin don't use them at all for 1 week and just avoid them, then the company that owns the toll road will go out of business. If that company goes out of business, then the gov will step in and take back the toll road and maybe just MAYBE use it for the peoples needs. I just hate even more how our government sold the toll road they built to a company who collects a profit off of our money. I think it's BS. At least in my mind.

[eepstein]

The future of all of the tollroads in the state are based on projections that are sometimes correct, and sometimes off. For example, 183A is almost double the projections that were forecast back in 2005. On the other hand, SH 130 is less than 30% of projections. This is used in calcultions determining how many years it will take to pay back the bonds and loans that were received to build these roads in the first place. We are talking many decades to pay back all of these loans with tolls. Boycotting a tollroad for a week won't do anything.

And remember, the higher the price of gas goes, the CHEAPER the tollroads become--think about that one.

Originally Posted by AmberAzeneth

I like the way you think young man. It is a great idea, but it wouldn't lower the price or cause bankruptcy. Keep that spirit inside you alive and focused on what you think that you can help change. +1 for your effort and your honesty.

[thesonofgray]

Originally Posted by Brad17

Ok... I understand that people like using them, I use them to i just hate dishing out money every time i go 2 miles down them. If the people of Austin don't use them at all for 1 week and just avoid them, then the company that owns the toll road will go out of business. If that company goes out of business, then the gov will step in and take back the toll road and maybe just MAYBE use it for the peoples needs. I just hate even more how our government sold the toll road they built to a company who collects a profit off of our money. I think it's BS. At least in my mind.

The State didn't "sell" the toll roads to anybody. Most of them were constructed under a public-private partnership where the investor/developer dished out a portion (most) of the money needed to construct the road in exchange for receiving the tolls for a predetermined amount of time (usually something like 50 years). The developer is also responsible for operation and maintenance of the road over the payback period.

These public-private partnerships are an increasingly common way governments are building infrastructure, probably because there isn't the funds immediately available or political will to just build it outright.

A developer agreement makes a lot of sense in some cases, such as building big industrial parks, etc, where the new businesses bring in tax revenue, jobs, and wages. Applying this method to toll roads is a little more controversial for obvious reasons.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Brad17

Ok... I understand that people like using them, I use them to i just hate dishing out money every time i go 2 miles down them. If the people of Austin don't use them at all for 1 week and just avoid them, then the company that owns the toll road will go out of business. If that company goes out of business, then the gov will step in and take back the toll road and maybe just MAYBE use it for the peoples needs. I just hate even more how our government sold the toll road they built to a company who collects a profit off of our money. I think it's BS. At least in my mind.

Before you get politically active on an issue and start promoting boycotts it would be wise to educate yourself regarding the true facts about the situation. In this case just about the only thing you are correct about is that you "hate dishing out money every time i go 2 miles down them".

[gcrissman]

Additionally I think you will find most companies that operate Toll roads do so in many Cities, States and in some case Countries so a 1 week dip in revenue at one location probably would not be noticed.

The one that owns the Dulles Greenway here in VA is out of Austrailia as I recall and they operate roads all around the globe. The Dulles Toll Road is operated by the Airport Authority after the State gave it to them in exchange for finishing the build out of the Metro to the Airport at little cost to the State

My current commute in VA cost $4 a day but can spike to $12 depending on if I need to get somewhere in a hurry so I would complain too much.

[jobert]

Tollroads tend to be a hot political topic in Texas, and it seems to always boil down to two arguments:

1. A tollroad is more convenient than no road at all, If you don't want to use them, you don't have to pay for them.

vs.

2. I've already paid for them in taxes, why do I have to pay a toll?



The problem is that taxes are not covering the cost anymore:
Money running out to build new roads in Texas | kvue.com | KVUE News | Austin, TX | Breaking News


If you truly want to boycott the tollroads, then ride a bike. You don't have to pay a dime in gas tax or vehicle registration, both of which are used to pay for our roadway infrastructure.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by jobert

The problem is that taxes are not covering the cost anymore:
Money running out to build new roads in Texas | kvue.com | KVUE News | Austin, TX | Breaking News

Alot of that is just due to inflation (since it has not been raised since 1991) and the fact that cars have become more fuel efficient. If Texas were to raise the gas tax by say at least a few cents that would cover at least some of the cost for building these new roads.