THE EDITOR, Sir:
PEOPLE ARE calling the talk shows saying they live in the United States, and they are providing wrong information about how toll roads operate.
The build/own/transfer concept is a good one and well-tested for improving infrastructure worldwide. You do pay differing tolls depending on the size of your vehicle and sometimes the length of your journey (try travelling on the New Jersey turnpike).
Part of the reason for the toll is improved roads. Also ask someone living in the New York metro region about using the Lincoln tunnel. It's US$6 (you only pay at one end).
You don't have to pay, but then factor in the alternatives and they look pretty much like a big waste of your time, costing more than the avoided toll.
Or go to Alabama and want to get from Tuscaloosa to Interstate 59 to head to Birmingham, and further north, or to Hattiesburg, and further south. There's a bypass around Tuscaloosa that costs 75 cents for cars, more for larger vehicles. You can avoid the toll bypass and take your time with the traffic through Tuscaloosa. You have to put a value on your time.
What citizens have to ensure is that the alternative routes are kept at some reasonable state of repair so that those who do not value speed can use the free alternatives.
I am, etc.,
FITZERGERALD YAW
fitzgerald.yaw@usm.edu
New York
