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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: The free market (and lemons)
Message-ID: <987@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 3-Jan-86 14:05:22 EST
Article-I.D.: mmintl.987
Posted: Fri Jan  3 14:05:22 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 6-Jan-86 06:47:15 EST
References: <589@calgary.UUCP> <4340033@csd2.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 26

In article <4340033@csd2.UUCP> sykora@csd2.UUCP (Michael Sykora) writes:
>>What is "electronic road-pricing"?  What roads are they planning to apply
>>it to?
>
>I don't remember that the article indicated this, but let's assume it's for
>major highways.  In the future, however, it might be applied to local roads.

I really want to know what "electronic road-pricing" is.  Does one attach
some sort of device to each car?  Does one photograph licence plates and
send bills to their owners?  Something else?

>>Assuming it is some sort of "use now, pay later" system, Hong Kong has a
>>great advantage in having essentially all domestic traffic.  Cars driven
>>in Hong Kong are either driven by a local owner, or rented locally.
>
>So?

So the choice between governmental and private solutions depends on the
situation.  It may well be that private (if a privately owned public
utility counts as private) enterprise is viable to run the roads in Hong
Kong, because the authority can get sufficient access to all the cars
which will be driving there, and/or to their owners, yet be nonviable
elsewhere.

Frank Adams                           ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108