Taking a Good Idea One Step Further
Ohio Turnpike officials recently announced plans to let private developers to build travel centers at both ends of the toll road.[1] The decision is in part an effort to stem the loss of the Turnpike's target demographic: truckers. But as these big spenders of the road take their traffic to other routes, it is worth asking whether a new truck stop or two will be enough to turn the tide. Following years of scandal and declining revenues, it is time that Ohio policymakers begin to address some of the fundamental issues standing in the way of the road's success.
The logic of public toll roads is that the tolls collected allow the state to pay off the cost of constructing the roads and then keeping up with its maintenance. After an 82 percent increase in toll rates though, Ohio is struggling retain truck drivers who now prefer congested arterials to the turnpike.[2]
According to Ohio Turnpike Commission Executive Director Gary Suhadolnik, "[W]e realize there is fierce competition in the trucking industry during this economic downturn and profit margins are extremely thin, especially for the independent truck owner-operators. Some truckers will avoid paying a toll unless the toll road or toll bridge is the only route available."[3]
The Turnpike Commission's answer has been to take on additional debt and increase tolls to provide new or improved service plazas along the route.[4] Now, the plan is to allow private firms to build truck stops with more amenities as bookends for its other stations. Whether this will be enough to entice drivers to pay the tolls to travel on strictly weight-controlled road is a big question. Turnpikes, after all, make their money on the road, not at the service plaza. In fact, nearly 90 percent of the $202 million collected by the Turnpike Commission in 2002 was from tolls.[5]
Charging steeply for something that can be found elsewhere for free can only be successful is there is some valuable aspect worth paying a premium for. The departing truckers willing to put up with congestion on other roads make it clear that they no longer see the turnpike as a worthwhile investment.
A recent proposal from the Los Angeles-based Reason Public Policy Institute may provide a solution for turning this situation around. In Toll Truckways: A New Path Toward Safer and More Efficient Freight Transportation, authors Robert Poole, Peter Samuel and Jose Holguin-Veras argue that the next leap in freight transit is truck only tollways, and their proposal has already won the support of the American Trucking Association.[6]
In fact, when speaking with trucking firms they discovered that the industry is willing to help defray the costs of infrastructure upgrades that would allow them carry larger loads and travel in dedicated lanes. This would not only translate into improved freight transport, it would help accommodate the expected increase in truck traffic while also protecting the safety of auto traffic.
Poole and Samuel followed up their proposal with another report detailing the sites with the highest probability of success as a pilot project. Ohio appeared prominently due to the strategic location of the turnpike. Right now, trucks deliver 90 percent of the value of U.S. freight each year. Linking the turnpike up to routes from the South and East Coast and allowing for truck lanes would create a "superhighway" for America's freight.[7]
While new shower stalls might be a nice touch for travel plazas, they are unlikely to reverse a trend away from turnpike travel among truck drivers. Rather, it is the innovative thinking behind such ideas as truck tollways that will make Ohio's turnpike a successful venture in the 21st century. Ohio policymakers should take the lead in urging the necessary changes in federal law for this to occur and begin laying the groundwork for a transportation revolution.
Footnotes:
[1] Rich Exner, "Turnpike to let developers build truck stops," The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 20 April 2004. Available at: http://www.cleveland.com/.
[2] Darrin Roth, "Effects of Pricing on Trucks in the U.S.," International Symposium on Road Pricing (Washiongton, D.C.: Transportation Research Board, 21 November 2003). Available at: http://gulliver.trb.org/.
[3] Gary Suhadolnik, "Study to look at more than turnpike tolls," Letter to the Editor, The Toledo Blade, 13 August 2003. Available at: http://www.toledoblade.com/.
[4] Keith Schneider, "Ohio's Turnpike Plazas Get a Mall-Like Makeover," The New York Times, 13 October 2003. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Peter Samuel, Robert W. Poole, Jr. and Jose Holguin-Veras, Toll Truckways: A New Path Toward Safer and More Efficient Freight Transportation, Policy Study No. 294 (Los Angeles: Reason Public Policy Institute, June 2002). Available at: http://www.rppi.org/.
[7] Peter Samuel and Robert W. Poole, Jr., Corridors for Toll Truckways: Suggested Locations for Pilot Projects, Policy Study No. 316 (Los Angeles: Reason Public Policy Institute, February 2004). Available at: http://www.rppi.org/.
