In response to Cabinet to deliberate and approve planned urban tollgates: Firstly, I would like answers to two questions which I think are in many people’s minds.
Makunike,Our Reader
The first one is: Why pay tax and tolls at the same time? When we pay taxes, the money is used for the services which government renders to us all.
These services are there whether we make use of them or not. But toll fees are used directly on the road, in other words,toll is a user fee, which is a benefit to the motorists.The second question is: Why do we pay tolls on an existing road which was paid for out of taxes?
It rations the use of the road only to those with the highest need to travel. At the same time chances are increased for government and other private companies to invest in the public sector through train and bus services as many people will use them to avoid unnecessary toll fees because tollgates encourage public vehicle use and this also serves as an environmental benefit.
In the first place, there is need for roads to be upgraded and expanded before they are tolled. This expansion provides increased capacity, reducing congestion, at the same time creating jobs since our country is in so much need of jobs.
The upgrade of roads generally also improves safety and decreases accidents and that will be a good thing. Tolling roads enables the public sector to contract the private sector for the construction, operation and maintenance of roads as witnessed in the country’s tolled major highways so far.
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Despite all this,I do agree that there are also disadvantages of urban tollgates although they are outweighed by advantages.Toll road schemes are more costly for road users than obtaining funds through taxation or revenue funds, but the funds can be obtained much sooner.
One thing for certain:At one point or the other,traffic will divert off the toll roads onto parallel roads which pass through residential neighbourhoods.Since tolling is felt as a sudden real expense,the public will find it difficult to pay for things which were originally provided for free of charge.
But this is the only way to go.We must be all worried by the rapid expansion of fleets of cars on urban roads due to the ever-increasing population,as it is simply unsustainable.
