I should clear out that the Interstate System is the Government’s problem. The rest of the roadways belong to the states/cities. That’s why I mentioned Lake Shore Drive and the NJ Turnpike on the main post. Actually- since the US routes (US 45, [del]US 66,[/del] US 50, etc) belong to the Government, that too could be a part of the tolling system- but unlikely since some routes require you to stop at a red, despite having many US route designations.
Interstates belong to the states too. The federal government does not own roads, except at places like military bases.
“US Routes” have even less to do with the federal government. They’re signs and not much more. The states don’t even get paid for maintaining them.
No contest. I prefer more picturesque local roads and nowadays there are GPSs. No way I’d pay to ride on a boring-ass interstate, I’m scarcely inclined to use them as it is.
I would pay because that’s literally my only choice to leave town. Like there are no side streets to the freeway. On the other hand, I guess I could go roundabout using US or state highways, which aren’t interstates (to visit family, it goes from e.g. 3.5 hours to 4.5). But the distinction between the two is often arbitrary (Interstates are often but not always bigger/faster. I could take Greyhound or MegaBus (see below) if I really need to, but it makes the piles of shit you have to transport to own a toddler difficult. Finally, do I need to pay for the section of US highway that is also co-branded as an interstate for a small portion of its distance?
OP: I did not know this, interesting if potentially problematic. California currently uses FasTrak for their tolls, and yet the two halves of the state used to use completely separate FasTrak systems which barely communicated with each other. It looks like that’s mostly fixed (but maybe there are exceptions?). But even so, they maintain separate websites. The Bay Area system is generally simple (except for a few small tolls in the South Bay?): are you going across a major bridge? Then you pay a toll, otherwise all roads are “open.” But the LA requirements are very different, and the tolls in CA are different than say NJ ($5+ but once a day vs. either $1 or $15).
Wouldn’t this lead to increased fares and such by some point? Unless there’s a completely open exemption for public transportation.
Take a trip to Europe, most ‘interstates’ are tolled and pretty steeply. People still use them, and drive quite a bit faster than in the US. It also may encourage a bit more travel on the ‘scenic routes’ but IDK.
For myself, I’m already there, I have a tolled route and a free route, both take the same time, the free route is shorter, the toll route allows a higher speed, allowing one to make up the extra distance in the same amount of time - both are highways with no lights. (actually I have this same thing in 3 different directions). In general I take the shorter and free route, though I would take the toll route on occasion. Also I don’t have any regular travel routes, I travel to many places, but none regularly.
To answer your question I would do what I am doing, take the free (or lower cost) route most of the time unless the toll route offered a significant time savings, but occasionally take the other route, sometimes for traffic avoidance, sometimes for a change of scenery, sometimes to flex my car’s muscles and get up to a higher speed, sometimes for weather conditions as the toll road is better maintained in winter for snow removal (though they use a highly caustic spray to melt snow which really hurts the lifespan of the car), sometimes I just want a straight flat highway with slightly wider lanes instead of the hilly curvy one that allows one to drive easier.
We have express lanes in the Bay Area where you can pay to use the car pool lane or connector, but I’ve never used them. I’d probably have changed my commute to work to use less of the freeway if they did this. However for long distance driving like to LA I’d bit the bullet.
It depends a bit on whether they lower gas taxes while making roads pay. I’d be more willing to pay if they did this. There is also some discussion about charging each car on mileage, since so many cars in California are hybrids or even electric now, and we pay less in gas taxes than standard cars.
I don’t go on the Interstate system most of the time, and when I do, I usually pay a toll, anyway (e.g., the NYS Thruway). The additional tolls aren’t going to change my driving habits.
As I do today, I would avoid the toll roads at all costs (heh, “at all costs”). My area doesn’t have toll roads, per se, but does have a toll lane on parts of most interstates, especially in congested areas. The toll varies on the volume of traffic. I have not only never used one, but never obtained a toll pass to do so.
I currently pay a tax on gasoline, a one time ad valorem tax on the vehicle, drivers license fees and an annual tag fee. All of that money is supposed to go toward road maintenance. Somehow, it doesn’t. Either change the model to all toll/user fees or all taxes. I will not do both.
Out of curiosity, where roughly are you kanicbird?
I’ve seen this with Pace Route 606- it enters the interstate, goes to a toll booth, and goes along its route. I’m sure there’s an exemption, not sure about NJ/NY.
I rarely drive on the interstates or on any other limited-access highways. So it wouldn’t make much difference to me in terms of $$.
But I don’t like the idea. Because AFAIAC, part of the purpose of interstates is to get people the hell off of local roads when they’re going a ways. This would push some of those people back **on **to alternate local routes.
No, just increase the tax on gasoline as needed, which taxes the users of all roads - local roads probably more so, because you burn more gas in stop-and-go traffic. I’d pay more than my share that way, but it’s OK with me.
Not to mention, as Atrios keeps pointing out, the infrastructure is already there for a gas tax. Nobody has to buy transponders for their cars, no governments have to pay to put the gizmos at intervals along the highway that detect your transponder. Nobody has to buy a software system for processing what the detecting gizmos feed in, and billing the customers.
Why do we need a whole 'nother system when we’ve already got a system that (excepting the relative handful of electric cars) has 100% coverage of both roads and vehicles?
At such point as electric cars or high-efficiency gasoline-powered cars become so much the norm that the gas tax has to get outrageous, we’ll figure out what to do then. It’s still a ways off, AFAICT.
ETA: I responded ‘other’ - I’d keep on driving as is, but there’d really be no bullet for me to bite. The annoying part would be having to pay for a transponder and keep some money in an account just because every once in a while, I would drive on a tolled road.
Start voting for politicians who would change it back to public roads.
A cash cow milking it’s own citizens. Most out of state visitors will be on or near the interstates.