Whoaccio
Senior Member
Government owners would have just as many incentives to manipulate prices as a private owner. On the one hand they are clearly likely to undercharge, which they currently do, to appease public opinions. On the other hand if they start using tolls as a revenue source to fund other projects they have an incentive to overcharge. I think the former is more likely than the later, but the point is governments don't have any particular incentive to charge "reasonable prices." If they did have any such incentive we would already have tolls, but we don't because the political concerns trump the search for "reasonable prices."
And what is a "reasonable price" price anyways? As much as Torontonians moan about it, the 407 is well within global averages for tolls, especially considering its superior toll collection system, design and relatively recent construction. Some toll roads in Australia charge 4x the 407's rates. If you look at 407 ETR's SEDAR fillings, it's hardly like the company is totally gouging consumers. In 2k7 it had net income of 60m out of 4.5b of assets.
