Toll Collect

After more than a year of delay, Toll Collect, Germany’s high-tech system of road pricing for big trucks, started operation earlier this week and appears to be working well.  Some 800,000 trucks use Germany’s 12,000 km of highways every day – all of these trucks will soon be tracked by GPS (i.e. from outer space!) and the big ones will be billed.  The toll system will also be tied into traffic reports and routing systems.

In other tolling news, Texas is considering a massive superhighway project that would be privately built, operated and tolled.

I see toll roads, most privately operated and some privately owned, as the road of the future.  Road pricing can not only reduce congestion it can also help with accident externalities.

Previous posts on this topic including my debate with Tyler can be found here.

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