Roads in a Market Economy

The author starts from the proposition that roads, being part of the 'command economy', exhibit the typical command economy characteristics of congestion, chronic shortage of funds, and insensitivity to consumer needs. As an alternative, the book presents a market economy framework, employing the tried and tested concepts of ownership, market pricing, and profitability, for the commercial provision of roads on the model of telecommunications. After setting the scene, the book looks in detail at commercial management and ways of charging for road use; road investment and provision on a commercial private and immediate steps that can be taken to advance commercialization.This book, with its world-wide and historical vision, copious figures, tables, references and three indexes, describes the deepening crisis of motorized mobility. To relieve this crisis, the author applies the principles used to deal with other problems of scarcity in market economies. The book is both a readable and accessible resource particularly for staff in central and local government, transportation and land-use planners, economists, engineers, and for academic research and graduate courses.