Last week I commuted to Orlando for Microsoft Tech-Ed. It wasn't actually a commute: I flew there on Sunday, mainly rode busses during the week, and flew back to Killeen on Friday.
As badly out-dated as Austin-area roads are, they do not compare to the under-engineering of the Orlando airport. It took 90 minutes for my checked baggage to be delivered to the baggage claim area, and when I asked American Airlines people if that were not unusual, they said, "No."
But the real evidence of an airport out of control came to light on Friday. I arrived at 7:00 A.M. for a 9:10 A.M. flight to Dallas. The only reason I made my flight is that it was delayed. A woman at the AA counter said "We advise travellers on summer weekends to arrive 4 hours before their scheduled departure."
I saw brutal things, including this episode which is burned into my mind: A crippled and retarded girl, perhaps 12 years old, in a wheel chair, was made to walk through the metal detector. She could hardly stand, but managed to stagger through. While the security people were talking to her obviously distraught mother, the girl wandered off with a tripping gait and a big grin on her face. Once of the Transportation Safety people tackled her and almost knocked her to the floor.
I don't think I'll fly to Orlando again. Maybe to Tampa and drive, but not even that if I can help it.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Saturday, June 9, 2007
More species
In my last post I neglected two humble species that occasionally make my commute more pleasant. The first is the Mexican Freetail Bat, _Tadarida_brasiliensis_. Probably the best known colony of these mammals lives under the Congress Avenue bridge in Austin. In July, August and September, you can see about 1,200,000 individuals leave their homes in cracks underneath the bridge around dusk for a night of foraging on mosquitos and other insects. Less well known is the colony that lives under the I-35 railroad overpass in Round Rock; the numbers are less, probably no more than 700,000, but these bats don't mind getting up close and personal with commuters. If you cross the overpass at the right time, you are likely to see bats surfing the slipstream from your windshield. The bats heading up or down Brushy Creek look like long ropes: it is only when you get to the overpass that you see the individuals that make up the cloud.
The second species is the Western Box Turtle, _Terrapene_ornata_. This gentle reptile (gentle, unless you are a curious puppy with your nose in front of the carapce) starts moving in late spring. In May and June, I'm likely to see at least one daily trying to cross a road. A disturbing number don't make it. When my children were small, I used to stop to pick up one or two a year. I'd put it in a box for a while, then release it in the back yard. Most managed to dig under the fence and escape; those who stayed I eventually took back to the side of the road to which they were heading when I interrupted them.
The second species is the Western Box Turtle, _Terrapene_ornata_. This gentle reptile (gentle, unless you are a curious puppy with your nose in front of the carapce) starts moving in late spring. In May and June, I'm likely to see at least one daily trying to cross a road. A disturbing number don't make it. When my children were small, I used to stop to pick up one or two a year. I'd put it in a box for a while, then release it in the back yard. Most managed to dig under the fence and escape; those who stayed I eventually took back to the side of the road to which they were heading when I interrupted them.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Commuting outside Austin
There is a point in my homeward commute where it switches from stressful chore to stimulating pleasure. That point is north of Georgetown where I get off I-35 and onto series of state, county and local roads that eventually bring me to Killeen.
At this time of year, it's rare I will see fewer than 10 deer. It's also likely that I will come across feral hogs, wild turkey, quail, foxes, coyotes, possums, raccoons, jackrabbits, cotton-tails, armadillos, turtles, tortoises, frogs and snakes. Plus vultures, ravens, several varieties of hawk, cardinals, jays, redwing blackbirds, flycatchers, swallows, grackles, starlings, night-hawks (actually not a hawk, but a big sort of swallow), and an occasional eagle. I saw a rattler slinking across a county road last night and carefully steered around it.
It is the custom on these roads to raise one or two fingers in greeting when you encounter certain vehicles in the opposite lane. The protcol is a bit tricky. A pickup, regardless of driver, gets two fingers. Other non-commercial vehicles with male drivers usually get just an index finger raised slightly from the 12 o'clock position on the steering wheel. As for commercial vehicles, the local limestone trucks get one or two fingers depending on how much of the road they are taking up. Sheriff's and Highway Patrol vehicles are never acknowledged.
I don't claim to have a particularly stressful job, and I-35 is only occasionaly Hell's Highway, but the relaxation I find beyond the exurban fringe is still a noticeable contrast and one of the reasons I can keep doing this.
At this time of year, it's rare I will see fewer than 10 deer. It's also likely that I will come across feral hogs, wild turkey, quail, foxes, coyotes, possums, raccoons, jackrabbits, cotton-tails, armadillos, turtles, tortoises, frogs and snakes. Plus vultures, ravens, several varieties of hawk, cardinals, jays, redwing blackbirds, flycatchers, swallows, grackles, starlings, night-hawks (actually not a hawk, but a big sort of swallow), and an occasional eagle. I saw a rattler slinking across a county road last night and carefully steered around it.
It is the custom on these roads to raise one or two fingers in greeting when you encounter certain vehicles in the opposite lane. The protcol is a bit tricky. A pickup, regardless of driver, gets two fingers. Other non-commercial vehicles with male drivers usually get just an index finger raised slightly from the 12 o'clock position on the steering wheel. As for commercial vehicles, the local limestone trucks get one or two fingers depending on how much of the road they are taking up. Sheriff's and Highway Patrol vehicles are never acknowledged.
I don't claim to have a particularly stressful job, and I-35 is only occasionaly Hell's Highway, but the relaxation I find beyond the exurban fringe is still a noticeable contrast and one of the reasons I can keep doing this.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Economics of Austin Commuting
I was talking to a friend today about the economics of commuting from Killeen to Austin. It made me put pencil to paper (so to speak).
First, what's the motivation for driving 75 miles to go to work, anyway? Well, I calculate I make about $50,000 more per year in Austin than I could make in Killeen. And I have opportunities for advancement in Austin that would not be available in Killeen. So without doing any more arithmatic, I can justify commuting.
But what if I lived in Austin? My modest house in Kileen could be replaced within a 15-mile radius of my job in Austin for about $250,000. If I invested the equity I have in my paid-for Killeen house, my monthly payments would probaby be no more than $1,000. A gramd is far more than I spend in gas, so this looks like a non-starter as well. (I leave out the property tax situation: in Austin I would pay about 7 times the amount I pay in Killeen.)
But if I have to commute, why do I drive a gas-guzzling pickup truck (Ford F-150) rather than a more fuel-efficient vehicle? I've looked seriously at a VW Jetta, which gets 43 MPG. My truck gets around 18. A 43-MPG vehicle will cost about $25,000. It will last (with any luck) around 5 years or 250,000 miles. Amortizing the cost of the vehicle over 5 years, I get $5000/year. My cost for fuel in my paid-for truck is about $4000 per year. Even if I get more than twice the mileage with the Jetta, it doesn't come close to paying for itself.
So I'm stuck. The economists are right: it's going to take a huge increase in fuel costs to get me to change my behavior (at least for another 2.5 years until this truck wears out) because it doesn't make economic sense to change.
First, what's the motivation for driving 75 miles to go to work, anyway? Well, I calculate I make about $50,000 more per year in Austin than I could make in Killeen. And I have opportunities for advancement in Austin that would not be available in Killeen. So without doing any more arithmatic, I can justify commuting.
But what if I lived in Austin? My modest house in Kileen could be replaced within a 15-mile radius of my job in Austin for about $250,000. If I invested the equity I have in my paid-for Killeen house, my monthly payments would probaby be no more than $1,000. A gramd is far more than I spend in gas, so this looks like a non-starter as well. (I leave out the property tax situation: in Austin I would pay about 7 times the amount I pay in Killeen.)
But if I have to commute, why do I drive a gas-guzzling pickup truck (Ford F-150) rather than a more fuel-efficient vehicle? I've looked seriously at a VW Jetta, which gets 43 MPG. My truck gets around 18. A 43-MPG vehicle will cost about $25,000. It will last (with any luck) around 5 years or 250,000 miles. Amortizing the cost of the vehicle over 5 years, I get $5000/year. My cost for fuel in my paid-for truck is about $4000 per year. Even if I get more than twice the mileage with the Jetta, it doesn't come close to paying for itself.
So I'm stuck. The economists are right: it's going to take a huge increase in fuel costs to get me to change my behavior (at least for another 2.5 years until this truck wears out) because it doesn't make economic sense to change.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Commuting in the news
I saw two interesting things today. First, the Texas legislature, under threat of a summer session (which they hate even more than taxes) decided to fund some roads. They preserved the two-year stoppage on new toll roads, which makes sense given the governor's rush to give away the store, but at least they did not leave the entire transportation network unfunded. Of course it could all fall apart in the last hours of the Lege, but there's hope.
Second, I listened to part of the annual congressional hearing on gas prices while commuting this morning. I burned about 4 gallons of gas while experts told me that I should be glad a gallon costs only $3.00. Both government and non-government witnesses talked a lot about markets. They talked about them as if they believe they exist in the oil and gas business. I'm not sure. I see an industry with very few raw-material suppliers. The suppliers are so tightly intertwined with producers that no one can separate them. I see the same companies that produce the gas vending it. I see a flat demand curve, with commuters having no choice but to pay whatever is the going rate for gasoline. How market forces guarantee fair allocation of resources in such an environment is not at all clear to me. One telling thing about this alleged market is that, without exception, prices go down when congress holds hearings about them.
Second, I listened to part of the annual congressional hearing on gas prices while commuting this morning. I burned about 4 gallons of gas while experts told me that I should be glad a gallon costs only $3.00. Both government and non-government witnesses talked a lot about markets. They talked about them as if they believe they exist in the oil and gas business. I'm not sure. I see an industry with very few raw-material suppliers. The suppliers are so tightly intertwined with producers that no one can separate them. I see the same companies that produce the gas vending it. I see a flat demand curve, with commuters having no choice but to pay whatever is the going rate for gasoline. How market forces guarantee fair allocation of resources in such an environment is not at all clear to me. One telling thing about this alleged market is that, without exception, prices go down when congress holds hearings about them.
Friday, May 11, 2007
TX 130
TX 130 was crowded last night. Relatively so, anyway. It was still "set it on 75 and go", but I actually had to change lanes a couple of times.
I was on the toll road for the same reason many others were there, I suspect: there were two accidents blocking lanes of I-35. But even with tie-ups on the free route, it was still Sunday-morning traffic on the tollway. I'm not sure of the reasons, but i think these may be among them:
So there are reasons to think that TX-130 will remain lightly-travelled for some time to come. I'll enjoy it when I decide to spring for the luxury.
I was on the toll road for the same reason many others were there, I suspect: there were two accidents blocking lanes of I-35. But even with tie-ups on the free route, it was still Sunday-morning traffic on the tollway. I'm not sure of the reasons, but i think these may be among them:
- TX-130 doesn't go anywwhere. It starts just west of Manor and ends just north of Georgetown. It passes way east of Austin, Pflugerville, Round Rock and Georgetown. They only town it goes through is Hutto, which, while growing, is not a major population center. When the road is extended south to TX-71 east of the airport, there will be more reason to take it.
- The geography is wrong for freight trucks. If you're coming south on I-35 and heading for Houston, and you have a Tx-Tag, TX-130 is a time-saver and probably well worth the toll. But if you're headed south on I-35 at Georgetown and bound for Houston, you're probably lost. If you had started north of Salado, you had shorter and faster routes available. And there's almost nothing between Salado and Georgetown. When the road is extended to Sequin, at least it will take some of the traffic headed for San Antonio and the Valley.
- It can be slower than I-35 if you don't have a Tx-Tag. Pulling over to pay (and you have to do it twice between manor and Georgetown) is a nuisance, and I can't see anyone doing it twice.
- The toll seems high. It's $2.70 from Manor to I-35. That's more than 10 cents per mile, OK for days when I-35 is bad, but every day? That's 13.50 a week and over $700 per year.
- RIght now, it's a hassle to get on the tollway. Just for example, from Sematech in south Austin you have two main choices to go where I live:
- Drive east on Oltorf and get on I-35
- Take Montopolis north; get on US-183 (which can be tricky in traffic); exit east on MLK; take the second left onto Decker Lane; turn right at US-290; get on the TX-130 frontage road and wait a long time at the Parmer Lane intersection; and you're on your way: Bob's your uncle.
So there are reasons to think that TX-130 will remain lightly-travelled for some time to come. I'll enjoy it when I decide to spring for the luxury.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
The Lege
The Texas state legislature has been an object of derision as long as I have lived here. I've known a couple of legislators, including a chairman of the House finance committee who was lucky to escape prosecution. The Lege has seldom deserved the scorn heaped on it as much as they deserve it in this session.
I've mentioned before that there are two broad ways of financing the roads I depend on to get to work: general and fuel taxes; and tolls. (There is a third: federal funding; fortunately we have never been foolish enough to rely on it.) This legislature has seen fit to reject any increase in general and fuel taxes, and to freeze construction of toll roads.
I have come to expect, and even approve, this kind of ostrich-like behavior in Austin. The people there have so befouled a once-beautiful nest that ignoring the situation is the only reasonable course. The Lege does not have that luxury: they have not yet trashed the whole state. They can't demand economic growth and high employment without being willing to fund the infrastructure that supports them. (I'm sorry, I said that wrong: Obviously they can; it's just that they are irresponsible to do so.)
The current governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is possibly the only public figure of less reputation than the legislature. This too is well-deserved. He has structured toll-road deals in ways that are opaque and almost certainly not in the interest of Texans. But he's right when he (or his handler) says that roads are infrastructure and that infrastructure must have reliable source of funding. I do not encourage the Lege to listen to the governor in many cases, but in this instance, they should.
I've mentioned before that there are two broad ways of financing the roads I depend on to get to work: general and fuel taxes; and tolls. (There is a third: federal funding; fortunately we have never been foolish enough to rely on it.) This legislature has seen fit to reject any increase in general and fuel taxes, and to freeze construction of toll roads.
I have come to expect, and even approve, this kind of ostrich-like behavior in Austin. The people there have so befouled a once-beautiful nest that ignoring the situation is the only reasonable course. The Lege does not have that luxury: they have not yet trashed the whole state. They can't demand economic growth and high employment without being willing to fund the infrastructure that supports them. (I'm sorry, I said that wrong: Obviously they can; it's just that they are irresponsible to do so.)
The current governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is possibly the only public figure of less reputation than the legislature. This too is well-deserved. He has structured toll-road deals in ways that are opaque and almost certainly not in the interest of Texans. But he's right when he (or his handler) says that roads are infrastructure and that infrastructure must have reliable source of funding. I do not encourage the Lege to listen to the governor in many cases, but in this instance, they should.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
An odd fantasy I've had for years has been bicycling to work. The idea is that I could gradually build up to world-class power and make the daily commute at speeds comparable to those achieved in flat reaches of road races—say, 20 MPH.
When this delusionary thinking began, work was 60 miles from my door. Over the years it has increased to 75. Rumor has it that in February we will move to a location that is about 80 miles. So even if I reached international status and coud maintain the pace day-to-day, I would still be on the road about 8 hours per day.
It's so cruel to have your dreams crushed by physics, geography and kinetics.
When this delusionary thinking began, work was 60 miles from my door. Over the years it has increased to 75. Rumor has it that in February we will move to a location that is about 80 miles. So even if I reached international status and coud maintain the pace day-to-day, I would still be on the road about 8 hours per day.
It's so cruel to have your dreams crushed by physics, geography and kinetics.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Relay for Life
No commuting for me today. I telecommuted (an ugly word for a beautiful thing), and my wife and I will spend the night walking rather than driving, at the Killeen Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society event.
Feel free to drop by Shoemaker High School any time from 6:00 P.M. until 5:00 A.M. We'll be set up near the 50-yard line on the school side of the athletic field. I'll probably be the one sleeping.
Feel free to drop by Shoemaker High School any time from 6:00 P.M. until 5:00 A.M. We'll be set up near the 50-yard line on the school side of the athletic field. I'll probably be the one sleeping.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
A Few Rants
You had to know this was coming.
Mr. Lane-Hog squatting in the fast lane: I can read your mind. You're thinking "I'm driving the speed limit or almost; those speed-demons can go around me; I have as much right here as anyone else; besides, it would be dangerous for me to change lanes one-handed with this cell phone pressed to my ear." Just so you won't have to read my mind: you're rude, anti-social and a menace to others.
Hey, 18-wheeler guy! What part of that sign you just went under that says "No trucks this lane" was hard to understand?
Dear Mrs. Unaware-of-her-Surroundings: When I leave 2 car lengths between me and vehicle in front of me, it's so I don't run into his bumper, not so you can swerve in between us.
And whoever you are (and you know): that cop on the side of the road giving a ticket or helping a stranded motorist, who you just sped within 10 feet of at 70 MPH, is probably a good guy and is almost certainly earning peanuts to do a shitty job. There's a law that you're supposed to keep him safe by slowing down or moving to a lane away from him. Are you inconsiderate, or just asleep?
And TURN OFF THAT STUPID DASHBOARD TV! Jeez.
Mr. Lane-Hog squatting in the fast lane: I can read your mind. You're thinking "I'm driving the speed limit or almost; those speed-demons can go around me; I have as much right here as anyone else; besides, it would be dangerous for me to change lanes one-handed with this cell phone pressed to my ear." Just so you won't have to read my mind: you're rude, anti-social and a menace to others.
Hey, 18-wheeler guy! What part of that sign you just went under that says "No trucks this lane" was hard to understand?
Dear Mrs. Unaware-of-her-Surroundings: When I leave 2 car lengths between me and vehicle in front of me, it's so I don't run into his bumper, not so you can swerve in between us.
And whoever you are (and you know): that cop on the side of the road giving a ticket or helping a stranded motorist, who you just sped within 10 feet of at 70 MPH, is probably a good guy and is almost certainly earning peanuts to do a shitty job. There's a law that you're supposed to keep him safe by slowing down or moving to a lane away from him. Are you inconsiderate, or just asleep?
And TURN OFF THAT STUPID DASHBOARD TV! Jeez.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
I want to talk about continuous narrative.
Commuting, for me at least, means listening to radio. For as long as I've been aware, radio has been divided into 3- or 4-minute segments. That's the length of songs, of news casts, and of interview segments. An exception is sports broadcasts, which have even shorter narratives: in baseball, it's the at-bat; in football, the down.
That programming probably fits the needs of the mass of commuters, who probably spend 20-30 minutes behind the wheel. (The average for my line of work is about 19 minutes in Austin). For those of us looking at a minimum of 80 minutes each way, it doesn't fill the bill.
I want a narrative that develops over a minimum of 30 minutes. Something like "Harry Nile" on XM, or some of the documentaries on BBC. I thought I had found a reliable source of such narratives on C-SPAN, but that was because I first caught them in off-hours. When congress is in session and politicians are speaking live, both they and the network understand the value of the sound bite: listen some time when a witness at a concressional hearing tries to give an extended answer; the questioner will inevitably say he is running out of time and must move on to other matters.
As evidence of how bad things have got, consider that National Public Radio _brags_ about (and asks donations because of) news stories that last 8 minutes. (I donate to KUT anyway, and I encourage you to do so, too.)
A light in the wilderness, as far as I am concerned, is the Bob Edwards show on XM 133. Edwards is more interested in his attention span than in yours, and I have come to trust his judgement. This morning, for example, he spent an hour with Michael Chabon discussing a scifi-mystery novel set in a Jewish community transported to Sitka, Alaska (where in fact the Hassidim are currently represented by one family). It was a strange conversation, but I enjoyed following it for an hour. Bob Edwards does not structure interviews as question-answer soundbites, but as extended conversations. If the interviewee isn't blathering or repeating himself, Edward lets him talk.
Commuting, for me at least, means listening to radio. For as long as I've been aware, radio has been divided into 3- or 4-minute segments. That's the length of songs, of news casts, and of interview segments. An exception is sports broadcasts, which have even shorter narratives: in baseball, it's the at-bat; in football, the down.
That programming probably fits the needs of the mass of commuters, who probably spend 20-30 minutes behind the wheel. (The average for my line of work is about 19 minutes in Austin). For those of us looking at a minimum of 80 minutes each way, it doesn't fill the bill.
I want a narrative that develops over a minimum of 30 minutes. Something like "Harry Nile" on XM, or some of the documentaries on BBC. I thought I had found a reliable source of such narratives on C-SPAN, but that was because I first caught them in off-hours. When congress is in session and politicians are speaking live, both they and the network understand the value of the sound bite: listen some time when a witness at a concressional hearing tries to give an extended answer; the questioner will inevitably say he is running out of time and must move on to other matters.
As evidence of how bad things have got, consider that National Public Radio _brags_ about (and asks donations because of) news stories that last 8 minutes. (I donate to KUT anyway, and I encourage you to do so, too.)
A light in the wilderness, as far as I am concerned, is the Bob Edwards show on XM 133. Edwards is more interested in his attention span than in yours, and I have come to trust his judgement. This morning, for example, he spent an hour with Michael Chabon discussing a scifi-mystery novel set in a Jewish community transported to Sitka, Alaska (where in fact the Hassidim are currently represented by one family). It was a strange conversation, but I enjoyed following it for an hour. Bob Edwards does not structure interviews as question-answer soundbites, but as extended conversations. If the interviewee isn't blathering or repeating himself, Edward lets him talk.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Pay to Go, Again
There is a principle of economics that is enshrined in accounting and seems to support the idea of toll roads. It is that when true costs are compared to the income generated by incurring those costs, the best decisions about allocation of resources are made.
There are two other principles that seem to support roads being funded on the public credit. The first is the idea of "common carrier". This idea recognizes the barrier to market entry imposed by the huge investment required to build infrastructure like roads and telephone lines. Although there may be private investment for such projects, the logical consequences are the same for public or private facilities: the investor is entitled to a fair rate of return on his investment; and use of the restricted resource must be allocated fairly.
The second principle in favor of public roads is that of the public footpath. It is widely recognized that there can never be a case where you can't get there from here. If the trasnportation infrastructure blocks a participant in the economy from going to a market or going to work, then that block must be removed.
What this means for Texas commuter roads, I think, is that there has to remain a reasonably efficient, generally funded, infracture for people who cannot participate economically on any other terms.
There are two other principles that seem to support roads being funded on the public credit. The first is the idea of "common carrier". This idea recognizes the barrier to market entry imposed by the huge investment required to build infrastructure like roads and telephone lines. Although there may be private investment for such projects, the logical consequences are the same for public or private facilities: the investor is entitled to a fair rate of return on his investment; and use of the restricted resource must be allocated fairly.
The second principle in favor of public roads is that of the public footpath. It is widely recognized that there can never be a case where you can't get there from here. If the trasnportation infrastructure blocks a participant in the economy from going to a market or going to work, then that block must be removed.
What this means for Texas commuter roads, I think, is that there has to remain a reasonably efficient, generally funded, infracture for people who cannot participate economically on any other terms.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Paying to Go
This is not a post about being polite and making a purchase when you take advantage of a convenience store's restroom. It's about paying for the roads we commute on, and this post will barely scratch the surface.
There are two popular patterns for funding highways. The argument for building and maintaining them out of general taxes and gasoline taxes is that the benefits are general; and to the extent that road costs are incurred without general benefit, a tax on fuel restores the balance. The arguments for toll roads are a little more complicated: one idea is that roads should be paid for directly by those who derive immediate gain; another is that costs can be reduced by financing construction based on future direct cash revenue rather than on the public credit.
These patterns are not opposites. In fact, they are very close to the same thing. Each assumes the economic value of road construction, an assumption more than borne out by the experience of the last 60 years. Both recognize the long-term benefits of road investment, so that costs are amortized over 30, 40, even 50 years.
There is one important distinction obvious to most of us every day: The public road philosophy is, at least insofar as general taxes, is "whether or not you pay, you go." The toll road mantra is "pay or don't go." We feel that distinction to a degree that exceeds its practical importance. A consequence of the first is that a slacker will take advantage. A consequence of the second is that a larger public gain will be lost because someone can't afford a 50-cent toll. Probably neither consequence is significant.
That's not to say there are not long-term effects of how we fund (or perhaps do not fund) roads. I'll talk about some of those effects in future posts.
There are two popular patterns for funding highways. The argument for building and maintaining them out of general taxes and gasoline taxes is that the benefits are general; and to the extent that road costs are incurred without general benefit, a tax on fuel restores the balance. The arguments for toll roads are a little more complicated: one idea is that roads should be paid for directly by those who derive immediate gain; another is that costs can be reduced by financing construction based on future direct cash revenue rather than on the public credit.
These patterns are not opposites. In fact, they are very close to the same thing. Each assumes the economic value of road construction, an assumption more than borne out by the experience of the last 60 years. Both recognize the long-term benefits of road investment, so that costs are amortized over 30, 40, even 50 years.
There is one important distinction obvious to most of us every day: The public road philosophy is, at least insofar as general taxes, is "whether or not you pay, you go." The toll road mantra is "pay or don't go." We feel that distinction to a degree that exceeds its practical importance. A consequence of the first is that a slacker will take advantage. A consequence of the second is that a larger public gain will be lost because someone can't afford a 50-cent toll. Probably neither consequence is significant.
That's not to say there are not long-term effects of how we fund (or perhaps do not fund) roads. I'll talk about some of those effects in future posts.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
TX-Double-Tagging
I received my TXTag statement by email today. I don't take the tollways much (nor does anyone else, as far as I can tell, but that's a subject for another post), so the obvious errors on the statement stood out.
On April 19 and April 23, I was northbound on SH-130 in the evening. In both cases, the transponder on my tag was read and I was correctly billed for the toll at Mustang Creek Plaza. For some reason, the toll authority didn't notice that charge and also billed me based on the photograph of my license plates. I was charged twice for going past the same point, in the same direction, at the same time.
It wasn't too much trouble to get the mistake corrected. I was on hold for about 20 minutes, but the customer service rep acknowledged the error and said it would be fixed.
I don't think there is anything special about my case. If you take 130 north, you may want to take a close look at your April statement.
On April 19 and April 23, I was northbound on SH-130 in the evening. In both cases, the transponder on my tag was read and I was correctly billed for the toll at Mustang Creek Plaza. For some reason, the toll authority didn't notice that charge and also billed me based on the photograph of my license plates. I was charged twice for going past the same point, in the same direction, at the same time.
It wasn't too much trouble to get the mistake corrected. I was on hold for about 20 minutes, but the customer service rep acknowledged the error and said it would be fixed.
I don't think there is anything special about my case. If you take 130 north, you may want to take a close look at your April statement.
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