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Cars tend to be cheaper because they do not pay for (i) their externalities (pollution, associated police forces, emergency vehicles, ER service, long term costs of dead young people and handicapped people) and (ii) the construction of the infrastructure they need and (iii) the use of extremely valuable land in many places - especially in cities.

Public transport pays a bigger share of its infrastructure and has a lot fewer externalities.

Let's get the full price in (tolls for road use, emissions taxes, and full insurance payments for all healthcare associated at least with car accidents) and let's see what happens then.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 02:12:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
That is true in the US, but I'd guess that European levels of gas taxes do in fact cover these externalities.

One problem with arbitrarily raising the gas tax in a country like the US, with minimal public transport and low minimum wages, is that it would be very regressive, and might actually drive poor people out of the labor market.  Some kind of rebate would be necessary.

by tyronen on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 05:12:10 PM EST
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