Re: Road Cost Recovery.

[bill@underpantscollective.com.au (Bill Evans)]

On Tue, 19 May 1998 17:29:41 -0700, David Penna <djpenna@one.net.au>
wrote:

+Tell wrote:
+
+> Privatisation of our railways just might fall flat on
+> its face, I don't know and neither does anybody else at
+> this stage, but are you seriously suggesting that we go
+> back to the old days of all government run railways.?
+> 
+> Road cost recovery, it slips off the tounge easily, but
+> nobody yet, apart from the usual chorus of increased
+> road use charges have come up with a real solution.
+> You can increase charges as much as you like and all it
+> will do is increase the cost of living across this
+> great land,  why ......because the pollies and rail
+> bosses will still make a stuff of it, they have had
+> years of practise.  See, while ever the systems are
+> government the rail chiefs will DO NOTHING that is
+> outside the wishes of the Minister, good enough reason
+> to privatise as far as I am concerned.
+
+I agree, as long as privatisation is done properly.  None of this half
+hearted crap that is an excuse for making budgets look good.  Privatise
+the lot or not at all!   The trouble with privatisation is that its all
+about maximising $$$$ - governments should privatise rail in such a way
+that it will operate better - that's where the long term benefits to the
+community will come - and not just for the short term $$$ benefits.

May I be so presumtious as to suggest that there is a third
alternative. How about corpratisation? Westrail has been corpratised
and last year returned a nett operating profit. I believe this was the
first time in it's history, and despite being sadled with the full
costs of perway construction and maintenace costs.
+ 
+> Increased road charges alone will not make railways
+> competitive, you will need far more than that, and it
+> starts back with the railways themselves.
+> 
+> What do you suggest to keep the ever increasing number
+> of trucks off our roads.
+
+EASY! Stop them being operated by private companies and put them into 
+government hands :->
+Not that a government would deliberately put trucks off the roads.
+They'd just run them like they run the railways.

Simple! Remove perway construction and maintenance costs from the
railways' operating budgets and fund them from general revenue, like
roads, then charge the railways the same fees and taxes road transport
pays. This one simple administrative change would reduce rail freight
charges by at least 30%, and overnight all the long haul trucks just
disappear. 

Power cars to keep reefers running would also be a help.


Bill Evans

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