(Dallas, TX) – Privatizing the New York City Transit System as well as solving nationwide traffic congestion are the subjects of two new reports from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).
In Solving the Problem of Traffic Congestion, NCPA Senior Fellow Randal O’ Toole finds that building roads is an expensive and land intensive way to reduce congestion.
“As gas tax revenues fail to keep up with inflation, road construction and maintenance costs increasingly burden state and local governments,” said O’Toole. “Moving from a flat cents-per-gallon gas tax to a mileage-based fee system can kill two birds with one stone by providing incentives to efficiently manage roads and, through variable pricing, ending congestion.”
In Privatization and Competition in New York City Transit, NCPA Senior Fellow E.S. Savas contends that government monopolies should be avoided.
“New York City public transit is an example of an unproductive and wasteful government monopoly. Unable to cover its costs, the New York bus system receives large subsidies to survive. However, many cities in Europe and elsewhere demonstrate that private operators can run these systems with reduced costs and improved service,” said Savas.
To schedule an appointment to discuss either study, please contact Caytie Daniell at catherine.daniell@ncpathinktank.org.