Conditions contributing to the attitudes for toll facilities in the United States with a specific focus on Virginia

Abstract

Although the form of toll facilities has evolved, a review of how they have been used in the United States since its early colonial period suggests four conditions that appear to have influenced the likelihood of tolls being used to support construction or maintenance activities: the relative stability of revenue streams from user fees compared to the stability of revenues from a general tax; the availability of technologies to collect tolls without degrading the user’s experience; the presence of design innovations for toll facilities (compared to non-toll facilities); and the relative size of market benefits (for toll facilities) compared to societal benefits (for non-toll facilities). Even though revenue is one motivation for having a toll facility, other factors help explain why the popularity of toll facilities has risen or fallen. During the late 1800s, the network benefits of a smooth surface appealed to a large group (bicyclists) and generated a popular demand for public facilities. Yet in the early 1940s, another innovation—consistency of geometric design—spurred a market among paying customers for limited access highways. Collectively, such factors support five periods that characterize different public attitudes toward toll facilities: colonial/early federal period (from 1607 to 1775), turnpike era (from circa 1792 to 1845), toll reluctance era (from 1879 to 1939), post-World War II era (from 1939 to 1963), and renewed interest in tolling period (from circa 1976 to the present).