That’s totally missing the point. The scale of our roads is far larger than is strictly necessary, but we build in a lot of the costs associated with car usage, making it effectively cheaper to use a car. We also don’t invest in alternatives, making it practically necessary. This all has the effect of increasing the scale of roads, increasing the cost.
Yes, we need some roads, and yes some of that cost should be socialized. We do not need roads like we have today. We also do not need to be making it easier to use a car than, say, a bike for basic things, or a train for longer distances, or a bus for medium distances (yes, busses use roads, but they substantially reduce road usage, which means maintenance costs, by carrying dozens of people, compared to a car on average carrying slightly more than one person).
The largest cost of roads is maintanance. A large part of this, is just regular commuting, not the services you mentioned. That cost should not be socialized. It should be individual based on your usage. If you’re creating a need for more maintenance, you should have to pay for it. This incentivizes not just less car usage, but also less heavy car usage. IIRC, maintenance cost is accrued by a square of mass, or something similar to that. An SUV is creating much more maintenance demand/cost than a sedan, and a sedan more than a bike.
That’s totally missing the point. The scale of our roads is far larger than is strictly necessary, but we build in a lot of the costs associated with car usage, making it effectively cheaper to use a car. We also don’t invest in alternatives, making it practically necessary. This all has the effect of increasing the scale of roads, increasing the cost.
Yes, we need some roads, and yes some of that cost should be socialized. We do not need roads like we have today. We also do not need to be making it easier to use a car than, say, a bike for basic things, or a train for longer distances, or a bus for medium distances (yes, busses use roads, but they substantially reduce road usage, which means maintenance costs, by carrying dozens of people, compared to a car on average carrying slightly more than one person).
The largest cost of roads is maintanance. A large part of this, is just regular commuting, not the services you mentioned. That cost should not be socialized. It should be individual based on your usage. If you’re creating a need for more maintenance, you should have to pay for it. This incentivizes not just less car usage, but also less heavy car usage. IIRC, maintenance cost is accrued by a square of mass, or something similar to that. An SUV is creating much more maintenance demand/cost than a sedan, and a sedan more than a bike.