On Fri, 18 May 2007 04:04:01 GMT, Jose
wrote in :

I'd like to see a user fee system for car travel. See how that flies.

Highway privatization is on the rise:

http://www.slate.com/id/2138950/
Lost Highway
The foolish plan to sell American toll roads to foreign companies.
By Daniel Gross
Posted Wednesday, March 29, 2006, at 4:56 PM ET
For rent: U.S. toll booths

If a governor told you there were a way to spread pork, raise
funds for infrastructure investment, promote jobs, avoid raising
taxes, and put a dent in the trade deficit—all in one fell
swoop—you might think he had a bridge to sell you. And you'd be
right. Only in this case, it's a toll road. And instead of a sale,
how about a long-term lease?
...
What's in it for the foreign companies? Huge potential profits.
Gigantic, steady profits. Toll roads are an incredible asset
class. They're often monopolies. They can support debt, since they
provide a recurring guaranteed revenue stream that is likely to
rise over time, as more people take to the roads and tolls
increase. According to Cintra, the Indiana Toll Road generated $96
million in revenues in 2005, and Cintra expects a 12.5 percent
internal rate of return on its investment. The heavy lifting has
already been done: The state or federal governments have acquired
the land and rights of way, built the roads and maintained them
for years, and enacted toll increases. All the private companies
have to do is deliver cash upfront, maintain the roads, and
collect the windfall. The buyers can also increase their profits
by making toll roads run more efficiently with technology. After
assuming control of the Chicago Skyway, the Cintra-Macquarie
consortium installed electronic toll equipment on some lanes. And
by refinancing nimbly, companies can cash out. Last year—just
seven months into its 99-year lease—Cintra announced that it had
recovered 44 percent of its initial investment in the Chicago road
through refinancing.






http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/135
House Committee chairs Oberstar & DeFazio warn states against bad
toll concessions
Posted Mon, 2007-05-14 21:52
concessions politics
James Oberstar and Pete DeFazio (Ob & Faz) chairmen of the House
of Representatives transport committee and a subcommittee
respectively don't want the states entering into bad toll
concessions. The committee chairmen begin a letter they say is
going to state governors, legislators, and transportation
officials: "We write to strongly discourage you from entering into
public-private partnership ("PPP") agreements that are not in the
long-term public interest in a safe, integrated national
transportation system that can meet the needs of the 21st
Century."

Proposed arrangements don't adequately protect public interest

The letter, says Bush officials "have lauded PPPs at every turn"
but the house transport committee "believes that many of the
arrangements that have been proposed do not adequately protect the
public interest."

"Shortsighted and unbalanced PPPs that mortgage our nation's
surface transportation structure for generations to come may favor
parochial and private interests to the detriment of an improved
21st century national transportation system," they say.



http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/paffairs/about/toll/status.htm