The 3804 International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) applauds a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, Approaches to Making Federal Highway Spending More Productive, which examines the economic advantages of tolling as one means of funding the nation’s highway system.
The nonpartisan agency’s study was conducted at the request of former Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and was released this month. External reviewers from the Council of State Governments, Rand Corporation, Brookings Institution and other organisations also provided input, CBO noted.
CBO said that one of the key reasons for examining new ways to make federal highway spending more productive is that the gasoline tax revenues that support the Highway Trust Fund have fallen critically short of needs, requiring lawmakers to shift billions of dollars into the fund from other sources.
It examined three approaches lawmakers could consider to make highway spending more productive and proposed three approaches that the Congress could consider which it said would make highway spending more productive: Have the federal government, or allow states or private businesses to, charge drivers directly for their use of roads more often, including charging them more for using roads when traffic is more congested; Allocate funds to states on the basis of the benefits and costs of specific programs and projects; and link spending more closely to performance measures, such as ones for traffic congestion or road quality, by providing additional funds to states that meet standards or penalising states that do not.
“It is encouraging to see the economic benefits of tolling explored in such a clear-eyed manner,” said IBTTA executive director and CEO Patrick D. Jones. “The CBO’s objective, impartial analysis of tolling as one funding method provides valuable insights in today's world where every highway dollar counts.”
“And as the study makes clear, tolls have the potential to do much more than fund the maintenance, repair and expansion of our highway system,” Jones said. “As CBO explains in its report, implementing tolls on highly travelled highways can boost productivity by incentivising more efficient travel patterns for workers, and by reducing delivery and inventory costs associated with goods by moving them more quickly to their destinations, among other benefits. These kinds of gains extend far into the broader economy.”
“This study is a breath of fresh air,” Jones said. “We hope Congress studies it carefully. As the report says, existing Interstate highways—where tolling currently is not permitted—are typically the most heavily used roads, and would 'yield the greatest benefits’ from tolling."
"This report provides solid evidence to help elected officials make more informed decisions about toll roads. We hope members of Congress will use the information from this report to ease the current restrictions that limit the economic and mobility benefits of toll roads.”
The nonpartisan agency’s study was conducted at the request of former Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and was released this month. External reviewers from the Council of State Governments, Rand Corporation, Brookings Institution and other organisations also provided input, CBO noted.
CBO said that one of the key reasons for examining new ways to make federal highway spending more productive is that the gasoline tax revenues that support the Highway Trust Fund have fallen critically short of needs, requiring lawmakers to shift billions of dollars into the fund from other sources.
It examined three approaches lawmakers could consider to make highway spending more productive and proposed three approaches that the Congress could consider which it said would make highway spending more productive: Have the federal government, or allow states or private businesses to, charge drivers directly for their use of roads more often, including charging them more for using roads when traffic is more congested; Allocate funds to states on the basis of the benefits and costs of specific programs and projects; and link spending more closely to performance measures, such as ones for traffic congestion or road quality, by providing additional funds to states that meet standards or penalising states that do not.
“It is encouraging to see the economic benefits of tolling explored in such a clear-eyed manner,” said IBTTA executive director and CEO Patrick D. Jones. “The CBO’s objective, impartial analysis of tolling as one funding method provides valuable insights in today's world where every highway dollar counts.”
“And as the study makes clear, tolls have the potential to do much more than fund the maintenance, repair and expansion of our highway system,” Jones said. “As CBO explains in its report, implementing tolls on highly travelled highways can boost productivity by incentivising more efficient travel patterns for workers, and by reducing delivery and inventory costs associated with goods by moving them more quickly to their destinations, among other benefits. These kinds of gains extend far into the broader economy.”
“This study is a breath of fresh air,” Jones said. “We hope Congress studies it carefully. As the report says, existing Interstate highways—where tolling currently is not permitted—are typically the most heavily used roads, and would 'yield the greatest benefits’ from tolling."
"This report provides solid evidence to help elected officials make more informed decisions about toll roads. We hope members of Congress will use the information from this report to ease the current restrictions that limit the economic and mobility benefits of toll roads.”
