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#1
07-01-2007, 01:55 AM
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Why aren\'t there more private roads?
It seems that nearly 100% of roads in North America are publically owned. Not quite 100%, but a very very high percentage of them.
Beyond that, it doesnt seem that there is any legal barrier to erecting private roads, since they do exist. Why is this? Is there some barrier to entry into this market, or is this a (nearish) monopoly? EDIT: Just to be absolutely certain: 1) Im well aware of te governments acts, and how, since they charge us taxes, that is a barrier to entry, but Im just curious if that isthe only 1 and 2) This isnt meant to be an anti-AC thread in any way. Just a question. 
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#2
07-01-2007, 02:10 AM
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Re: Why aren\'t there more private roads?
Imagine if I gave away hotdogs for free (but paid for them by taxing people). How would anyone compete with this?
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#3
07-01-2007, 02:22 AM
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Re: Why aren\'t there more private roads?
(not sure if you saw my edit, but I was asking if there was anything beyond that)
Obviously that is the first big reason. But Im not sure its exactly sufficient. There seem to be many many examples of publically owned roads that charge fairs, yet have little to no competition. It is simply an issue of subsidy? I mean, there are many examples of subsidized entities that get their fair share of private competition. Is this just an example of a situation where the subsidy is so great to overcome all competition? Or is there a barrier.
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#4
07-01-2007, 02:32 AM
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Re: Why aren\'t there more private roads?
Well, a pretty big barrier is the fact that your private road would likely have to cross a government road to be useful. This means you would need permission from the government to build the road. However, this is not insurmountable: railroads get right-of-way permission all the time. I suppose the existence of private freight railroads proves it is possible to out compete government roads.
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#5
07-01-2007, 02:36 AM
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Re: Why aren\'t there more private roads?
[ QUOTE ]
Well, a pretty big barrier is the fact that your private road would likely have to cross a government road to be useful. [/ QUOTE ] Iron, thats why I started the thread. It seems to me this has the (perhaps) unique property, where you essentially need the permission of the competition to enter the market. Im not sure if this is a barrier in actuality, but I do find it interesting.
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#8
07-01-2007, 10:10 PM
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Re: Why aren\'t there more private roads?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Imagine if I gave away hotdogs for free (but paid for them by taxing people). How would anyone compete with this? [/ QUOTE ] Make a better hotdog? [/ QUOTE ] Can you at least admit that the person that has to actually convince people to buy his product is at an unfair disadvantage?
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#9
07-02-2007, 12:58 AM
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Re: Why aren\'t there more private roads?
[ QUOTE ]
Imagine if I gave away hotdogs for free (but paid for them by taxing people). How would anyone compete with this? [/ QUOTE ] Also, the government has the power of eminent domain to force property owners to sell land along the route of a road. A private road builder would have to negotiate a sale with each property owner along his desired route, and the property owners could set any price they want, or refuse to sell at any price. This makes it a lot more expensive to build a road.
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#10
07-02-2007, 01:01 AM
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Re: Why aren\'t there more private roads?
Besides, we all know eminent domain is used to make developers and city officials rich and it has nothing to do with building roads.
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