Last October, the [trust] fund [for American Highways] had an $8.1 billion surplus; this month Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced that the fund's balance would reach zero by Oct. 1. What changed? As gas prices rose, Americans drove less, and gas tax revenue, which funds most transportation projects, declined. The instability of gas tax revenue underscores the conflicting logic driving transportation policy. Transportation officials encourage mass transit but rely on drivers to generate most of the fund's revenue. When drivers shift to buses and subways -- as they have this year -- revenue takes a hit, and an overburdened mass transit system is stretched to its limits.
The beginning of the article notes that congress agreed to an emergency $8.1 Billion bail-out of the highways, but even this would only last a year at best.
What does this mean? Only that our highways are going bankrupt because of the decline of driving. Looks like the free market yet again has saved us!
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